On the Sly
by Anti-Sheep Era
Summary: [Hogwarts!Paily] Emily has been chosen as the Hogwarts Champion and she's currently participating in the second task. Inspired by the Paily Week theme. One shot!
1. Chapter 1

**Ok, I'll admit, the story is simple. But I was inspired by the Hogwarts Paily theme and watching The Goblet of Fire and I just ran with this idea. Please don't be too critical, I was just writing off the top of my head...well, ok, be as critical as you want, but I hope you all enjoy! -ASE**

* * *

**On the Sly**

Emily never thought she'd be the one to get picked, but it was her own small ounce of hope coupled with her friends persistent hounding that made her go for it.

You see, she had been the oldest of the group and she was fairly good in all of her classes and as much as she was encouraged by the others, she was afraid of failing miserably, embarrassing not only herself but the entire school. She just needed the extra push and she finally did it. She actually put her name in the Goblet of Fire.

And it was she that was surprised the most, when the headmaster called her name in the Great Hall, immediately attacked by her friends who proceeded to smother her with hugs, pats on the back and lots and lots of shouting. The shock rendered her almost completely catatonic and it wasn't until she locked eyes with a certain _someone_ across the hall (who inclined her head towards the front as if to say _well go on_), that she finally walked towards the headmasters, congratulated by each of them, and sent to the Trophy Room.

The first task had been difficult, testing her in ways she had never been tested before. But she made it through and was finding the second task to be challenging in its own right.

* * *

"So what exactly does she have to save?"

"Ummm…it said something that she'd 'sorely miss'."

"Well what the hell could that be?"

Aria, Spencer and Hanna were in the stands, having just watched their best friend, Emily Fields, dive into the Black Lake. Spencer had binoculars and was watching Emily swimming just beneath the surface intently. Aria checked her watch, to see how much time was left and Hanna was munching on some popcorn.

"Geeze, guys, she just left. Calm down, it's not like she doesn't know she's doing," Hanna said to the others. "Besides, I wanna know what would be the thing she would miss the most!"

"I dunno, what about that shark plush she's been sleeping with since she was little?" Aria asked, her eyes still trained on the lake's surface.

"I can still see her swimming close to the surface…why hasn't she completely gone under yet?" Spencer muttered.

"Didn't you hear!?"

It was Lucas, who had just made his way up the stands to sit beside Hanna. It was quite chilly and Lucas had his yellow-and-black scarf wrapped tightly around his ears and neck. She offered him some of her snack, to which he grabbed a handful.

"Hear what?" Spencer asked, the binoculars still pressed tightly against her face.

"I heard Mona telling a group of her friends that the headmasters were collecting students for the champions to find," Lucas divulged. Hanna nearly choked on her popcorn.

"Are you serious?" Aria asked, looking at Lucas with wide eyes.

"How come Mona didn't tell me!" Hanna cried out indignantly.

"Is that so?" Spencer muttered to herself. She slowly pulled the binoculars from her face as she pondered who might be the person Emily would miss the most.

* * *

Lucky for Emily she hadn't run into too much trouble. _Or swam into_, she corrected. Her friends had tried to help her prepare for anything she might encounter in the water, which meant hours of pouring through books that had anything to do with magical creatures that lived under the sea, cross referenced with Spencer's own personal list of potential magical sea creatures actually living in the lake. It was really only her best guess, but Emily had the pleasure of conferring with _someone_ who had taken it upon herself to know as much as she could about the lake—_someone_ who had spent a good amount of her time actually _swimming_ in the lake. Per _her_ advice, Emily knew the best spot to dive into so that she could avoid all of the nastiness that lurked in the reeds and the lake bottom. _Stay away from the plant life in there_, she had been warned, _and _never_ swim close to the bottom_.

Emily enjoyed the silence of the Black Lake, as it provided her time to think about what she might be looking for. The champions hadn't been told specifically what they would need to find, only that they would know when they saw it. Emily figured that was the headmasters' way of telling them enough without revealing too much, especially if someone hadn't deciphered the clues in their egg. Emily knew better though—over-zealous headmasters with the desire to win meant helping their champions whenever they could. She never received such help from her own headmaster, but she didn't really need it. And to tell the truth, she appreciated it. Emily was blessed with four best friends, although if anyone in the school had been asked about it they would only be able to discuss three of them. Emily herself was in Hufflepuff, but her best friends were in different houses—Spencer was in Ravenclaw, one of the two houses her family tended to be sorted in; and both Aria and Hanna were Gryffindors. The other was a Slytherin and that was one of the reasons no one would ever suspect that she and Emily were _acquainted_, let alone _best friends_…ok, more than best friends.

Each girl had a subject they were most strong in. For Spencer it was Transfiguration. She was always the first one to correctly perform any of the new transfiguration spells, usually on the first day they were introduced. She had tried to persuade Emily to let her turn her into a shark for this task, but Emily talked her out of it, because she was sure she wouldn't be able to learn how to do that _herself_, in time. She couldn't very well have Spencer transfiguring her, as she was definitely sure that would be outright cheating. Aria's was Astronomy, which also turned into Arithmancy and Divination after their first year. She was able to give Emily some valuable advice, tracking the moon's position and describing how it would affect the water (Aria also told Emily to be careful, because Jupiter was in the fifth house, but Emily wasn't quite sure what to do with that). Hanna, who excelled in Herbology, helped her out tremendously when she gave her gillyweed, the magical herb that had given her gills, flippers, and the ability to completely acclimate her body temperature to the Black Lake's notoriously icy water, especially during this part of the season. Emily herself excelled at charms and she had a pretty nifty one to regulate her body temperature, but was happy to see that it was already taken care of. That gave her more time to focus on defensive spells, which also meant that she could work with Spencer (who didn't like that she wasn't contributing, per her own words). On her own, Emily practiced her nonverbal spells and figured out a neat way of moving in the water, using her wand to create underwater currents that she could float in and wouldn't have to overexert herself.

As Emily swam further, she noticed that she was getting nearer to the darkness that her Slytherin had told her to keep an eye out for (_but it's not like you can miss it or anything_). Grabbing her wand from the sheath she had attached to her leg, she thought _lumos_, causing her wand to emit a thin beam of light that helped her see a bit more clearly. She noticed a lot of the surrounding sea life scatter at the light but she was worried that the light might bring more attention to herself. So far she hadn't run into any of the other champions, nor any of the big bads that might be lurking nearby. Reciting the lists of spells she had practiced, over and over in her head, she dove deeper, swimming straight into the center of the dark abyss.

* * *

"How come I'm not down there? Everyone knows Emily would miss the hell out of me if I were gone!" Hanna continued to rant, having completely forgotten her popcorn to which Lucas had been helping himself to.

"Rude!" Aria said, looking at Hanna like she couldn't quite believe what she was saying.

"Sorry, but everyone knows that I've known Emily the longest," Hanna explained, not at all sounding apologetic. Spencer scoffed.

"Well it seems like she would be fine if you were missing for a bit," Spencer said, smiling. "I mean, you're still here, right?" Hanna pouted.

"Are you even sure they're looking for people? Can we really believe Mona?" Aria asked Lucas.

"Mona is many things…conniving, manipulative, can barely stand to be in the same room as her, but she's never wrong about office gossip," Lucas said. Mona worked as an assistant to the deputy headmistress and was generally in the loop when it came to any higher-up Hogwarts gossip. "She said she even saw some of the students they picked up…apparently one of them is a _Slytherin_!"

"A Slytherin? They all should be at the bottom of the lake…" Hanna joked.

"I bet they'd even scare the Giant Squid off," Aria added. Both girls laughed.

"Was it a guy or a girl? Maybe one of the other schools' champions had a fling. They could've been someone's date at the Yule Ball. I thought I saw the Beauxbatons girl cozying up to a Hogwarts student," Spencer suggested. She went back to looking out of her binoculars, noticing that she could no longer see Emily. "Hey, I can't see her! It looks like she finally dove in." She passed the binoculars to Aria, who then passed them to Hanna.

"Look! They're pulling someone out!" Spencer yanked the binoculars from Hanna (_Hey_!) and trained them on the scaffold where, sure enough, a champion was being helped out of the water, sans an extra person.

"Is that it? Is she the first to return?" Aria asked. Spencer zoomed in on the girl, noticing there were a number of red welts on her arms and legs.

"No, I don't think so. Those looks like grindylow burns. She must've turned back," Spencer finally said. Sure enough, an announcement was made that indicated the champion from Beauxbatons had been disqualified, for not returning with her person.

"Looks like Mona was right," Hanna grumbled reluctantly.

"That was actually pretty smart of Emily," Aria said. "Swimming for a bit before diving in. She could've met some real trouble in those grindylows. Not that she couldn't handle it, but still. It definitely would have set her back, time-wise."

"Way to go Emily!" Hanna whooped. Spencer agreed it was a smart move and she wondered how Emily thought of it. She knew Emily like to take a dip in the lake every now and then (_pure craziness_, Spencer would often tell her) and so it'd make sense that this task was right up Emily's ally.

"Guys, Emily is so winning this thing," Spencer said smugly.

* * *

Emily couldn't see anything, save for whatever was in the path of her wand's lone beam of light. She missed the sunlight that filtered through the surface of the lake and even though her body temperature was stable, she nevertheless felt cold. She considered conjuring up something to keep her company, wondered briefly if there were any turtles nearby, but she didn't want to waste any time. Stirring her wand widely below her, towards the bottom of the lake, in a circular motion, she watched the water start to move. She continued this motion for a few seconds longer, then pointed her wand at the center of the small vortex, causing the water to start rushing away from her within the circle she had traced out. Swimming into the center, she was sucked in immediately and began riding the current she had created. It was still plenty dark, but at least she was moving a lot faster so she didn't have to think too much about what she might be swimming next to. All around her she saw dark shapes, but still nothing came towards her. Praying that the lack of action she was receiving wouldn't come back to bite her in the butt later (both literally and figuratively), she continued her descent to the bottom of the Black Lake.

* * *

"…it was so weird, McGonagall came to our dorm and personally escorted Paige out. I mean, she didn't look upset like she was in trouble or anything, but it's not like I could ask her what was going on."

Spencer, who had been staring at the water for the past 15 minutes, perked up upon catching a bit of the conversation that was being had behind her.

"Hey Spence, want some pumpkin pasties?" Hanna asked, opening up a pack and giving one to Aria and Lucas.

"Hold on Han," Spencer said, turning around to find whoever had been talking. "Excuse me, but did you say something about Paige?"

"Not that it's any of your business, Hastings, but yeah, I did," a girl with brown hair and a sour expression said. She rearranged her green-and-silver scarf around her neck in irritation.

"Oh, hey Pru," Spencer acknowledged. Pru was on the Slytherin quidditch team, a chaser. "Paige as in McCullers?" Spencer asked, ignoring the girl's scowl. "Paige McCullers?"

"Yeah, so what?"

"Oh, nothing. Sorry," Spencer said, turning back to her friends.

"What was that about?" Hanna asked. "And who is Paige McCullers? And why do you care?"

"She's just some girl I know who is on the Slytherin quidditch team. I got a nasty bruise from her one time, she nearly knocked me off my broom," Spencer recalled.

"Oh that's who did that? You were complaining about that for a week, even though Madam Pomfrey had you good as new in just a few seconds," Aria said, poking fun at her, to which Spencer stuck her tongue out.

"Hey, it was rough! McCullers is a straight-up _monster_ on the quidditch pitch. I wonder if she was the Slytherin that got pulled for this event…anyone see her with any of the champions at the ball?" Spencer asked, as she mentally went through the night in her head. Of course it didn't help that she didn't pay any attention to any of the other champions, as she spent all of her time dancing with her own boyfriend.

"Oh please, Spence. I don't even know who that girl is. And besides, we were all too busy with our own boyfriends. Even Emily seemed to be gone half the night, and she's one of the champions," Hanna said flippantly.

"Hanna's right. What are you on about anyway?" Aria asked. Spencer just shook her head.

"It's nothing," she said as she went back to watching the water through her binoculars.

* * *

Emily was right to be concerned about the lack of activity coming back to haunt her; as soon as she spotted light, she was knocked out of her current by something. Spinning uncontrollably, Emily was able to right herself, wand at the ready, looking around to see what had hit her. Seeing nothing, Emily continued to swim, observing that she was getting closer to what appeared to be underwater torches surrounding a giant stone that had three…_bodies_? Sure enough, there were three people floating who were tethered to the boulder; two of them Emily wasn't sure who were, but she definitely knew who the third one was.

_Paige!_ she thought, swimming over to the other girl quickly. She noticed a few Merpeople had come to watch her, although they did not try to interfere in any way. She pointed her wand at the rope that was tying Paige down to the rock and severed it, grabbing Paige and holding her close. She inspected her closely, seeing that Paige's eyes were closed and she didn't seem to be breathing, but she was warm and when Emily put her ear on the other girl's chest she could feel and hear her heart beating. Exhaling in relief, Emily pressed her lips to Paige's forehead. She glanced at the other two people who were still tethered and wondered if the others were coming and glanced at her watch. It was already half past the hour. Looking to the merpeople, knowing she didn't speak mermish, she pointed to the other two, her eyes wide trying to relay to them that she did not want to just leave them there.

_Only one_, they said simply.

Emily looked at the other champions' hostages, worried. She knew they were still alive and she knew that no one would knowingly put their lives in danger, especially for a tournament that was supposed to foster inter-magical unity and camaraderie. She looked at her watch, figuring she could wait just a little bit longer. She hated seeing Paige look so lifeless, especially in the water, which she knew was where Paige felt the most alive. She had yet to tell her best friends that she and Paige were in fact going out. Both of them had figured it'd be for the best, for now, not that they were entirely keen on hiding their relationship. That didn't mean they weren't happy to have each other to themselves, but they both knew they would need to break the news to their friends soon, considering how serious they had become over the years.

Where Emily excelled in charms, Paige excelled in Care of Magical Creatures, specializing in underwater sea creatures. They actually first met at the lake, one warm afternoon when Emily happened upon Paige patching up a pretty big turtle. She watched as Paige held the poor creature's front left flipper, where it looked like a giant chunk had been bitten out, and slowly moved her wand above the wound as she sang an incantation softly. The flesh began to mend, scar tissue forming rapidly as Paige aided in its healing. Emily was entranced by the sight and she sat down to watch her for a good while, until Paige finally noticed her. Blushing furiously, Emily stammered her way through an apology-slash-introduction, not quite meeting Paige's intense gaze. When she finally did, smiling, and asking Paige for her name, the other girl dipped her head, and proceeded to stammer her way through her own introduction.

Emily was suddenly startled by the Merpeople, who seemed to react to something that was nearby. Thinking that perhaps the other champions were starting to arrive, she looked at her watch (45 minutes past), she decided that it was ok to start ascending, since the competitors only had an hour to complete the task. She figured that if nothing else, the other champions' people would be rescued after the time limit but to be completely honest, she really wanted to see Paige breathing and smiling again. Looking one last time at the others, she pointed her wand towards the bottom and blasted her way up towards the surface, holding Paige as closely to herself as possible.

As soon as they broke the surface, she heard the wonderful sounds of Paige gasping for breath, partly because she hadn't been breathing for Merlin knows how long (Emily didn't even want to _think_ about how long) and partly because Emily was gripping her so tightly.

"Hey there superstar," Paige grinned as Emily pushed her hair behind her ears. She wrapped her legs around Emily's torso and her arms around her neck. "I knew you'd find me."

"Always," Emily breathed, before kissing her soundly.

"It's Emily! She made it!" Hanna yelled, jumping up and down with her arms up in the air, joined quickly by Aria and Spencer. "Wait…who is she with-?"

"—is that?"

"McCullers!?"


	2. Fourth Year

**So does anyone take me seriously when I deem a story as a "one-shot"? Because apparently I can't keep to it lol. I wasn't going to expand this story, but I just kept thinking about it and just had to do it. I looove Harry Potter and of course Paily and I just kept thinking of how they could've met in this universe and what they might be good at it, etc. etc. My plan is to do a chapter for each year, leading up to their 7th year. All the girls are in the same year, with Emily being the oldest. This chapter provides a bit of back story on how Paily met and next chapter will focus on a day during their 5th year. Please R/R and enjoy :) -ASE**

* * *

**Fourth Year: **

**The Badger meets the Serpent**

"_Please_ Spence? It's not like I'm asking you to _write_ my essay or anything."

"No, you're just asking me to _rewrite_ your essay!"

Emily Fields made her way into the Great Hall, honing in on the noises of her squabbling friends. It was always the same, or at least had been for the past three years, and even if they didn't always sit at the same place, Emily knew that she could count on Hanna and Spencer's bickering to provide the location of their whereabouts. Making her way over to their table (the far end of the designated Gryffindor table, closest to the Hall doors), she sat down heavily next to Hanna who was sitting across from Spencer and Aria. Emily poured herself a bowl of cereal and milk and began eating, watching as Hanna did her best to convince Spencer to help her.

"It's just one question!"

"That's not the point Hanna! You should've paid attention instead of making googly-eyes at that greasy-haired Gryffindor boy!"

"He does not have greasy hair! And how do you even _know_ that? You're not even in our class!"

"You just told me, that's how!"

Emily turned her attention to Aria, who was flipping through a book.

"What's up, Aria?"

"Oh hey, Em!" Aria said, slightly startled, "I didn't even realize you were here!"

"They've been going at it for a while, huh?" Emily asked. She figured Aria had tuned out their squabbling soon after it started, as usual.

"Well you know those two. Of course Spencer always backs down in the end," Aria claimed and true to her words, Spencer had finally grabbed Hanna's scroll to look over her answers. Beaming, Hanna looked at her other two friends.

"Good morning Em! Ready for double potions today? I know I will be, here in a sec," Hanna indicated, nodding towards Spencer.

"Keep talking and I'm going to send you to class with an empty scroll," Spencer muttered, as she pulled her wand out to scan Hanna's homework.

"Aw, I'm only kidding. Besides, who here is smarter than you when it comes to this kind of stuff?" Hanna asked sweetly and as much as Spencer knew that Hanna was just trying to keep on her good side, she couldn't help but puff up in pride. Aria rolled her eyes.

"Is it double potions today? I completely forgot. Lucky I did my homework, I guess," Emily uttered listlessly, before going back to her cereal. Hanna and Aria exchanged looks, wondering what was wrong with their friend. Even Spencer looked up from her corrections.

"Emily, what is it?" Spencer asked. Emily looked up at her friends, all of their faces showing concern.

"I'm sorry guys, I don't mean to be so down."

"Hey, don't worry about us. What's going on? Is it your dad?" Hanna asked, grabbing Emily's hand when she nodded. "I'm sorry Em."

"He's ok, he just got called out again. The ministry is dispatching only the highest qualified Aurors to track down some rogue wizards," Emily explained to her friends.

"How long?" Aria asked.

"Not sure yet. Guess 'til they're found. He says that he will be back in no time," Emily answered. Her father, Wayne Fields, was a high-ranking Auror, often in charge of training new recruits, but every so often he was called to oversee and participate in the capture of wizards that were deemed more dangerous than the average wrongdoer. In fact, Emily's mother and father had started dating as Aurors-in-training, fresh from their graduation from Hogwarts. Her father had told her that he had always had a crush on her mom, Pam, when they were students in Hogwarts, ever since she out-cursed him in Defense Against the Dark Arts when they happened to have been paired up. Emily always liked hearing that story.

"Your dad's the best, Em. He's captured so many dark wizards already," Hanna assured. "Those guys will be surrendering in no time when they realize who's coming after them." Emily smiled.

"Hanna's right," Aria agreed, "And we're here for you, for whatever you need."

"If you want to skip today, I'll be sure to take extra notes," Spencer added helpfully. Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws had Charms class together, later that afternoon.

"Oh please. You already _take_ extra notes," Hanna scoffed, "You've got notes on your notes! You even take notes on our notes!"

"Excuse me, but I'm trying to be supportive of Emily right now!" Spencer snapped. "And you don't even take notes!"

"Guys, please!" Emily laughed. "I really appreciate it, thanks." Emily smiled at all of them, glad that she could tell her friends what was bothering her. She was still worried about her father, she always will be when he's gone, but she was grateful to have a support system that cared about her. "So, double potions after breakfast? What do you have Spence?"

"Care of Magical Creatures…with Slytherin. Ugh, they're the worst. Maybe we should just do your dad a favor and get rid of the whole lot of them," Spencer grumbled.

"Wasn't your sister a Slytherin?" Aria asked, puzzled.

"My point exactly!" Spencer cried out, making the other girls laugh. "I'm the first one in a while that's been sorted into Ravenclaw. Good thing it was Ravenclaw, I couldn't take it if I was another Hastings _Slytherin_."

"So your family has only _ever_ been sorted into Ravenclaw or Slytherin?" Hanna asked. Spencer nodded. "Creepy."

"Easy for you to say! You don't have the burden of the Hastings name crushing your very soul," Spencer complained. "You three have it so easy," she sighed wistfully.

"Um, Muggle-born here!" Aria reminded her, waving her hand in Spencer's face. "Classes with Slytherins are terrible! At least one of them has to make some snarky comment about my heritage."

"They can't all be _bad_…" Emily started, but was cut off sharply.

"Really? Even I get crap from them and you know my mom's a full-blooded witch!" Hanna cried out. "At least you and Spencer are treated with some kind of respect."

"But Gryffindors and Slytherins are always at each other's throats. They can't all be fullbloods, that's just not probable," Emily reasoned. "Besides, there has to be at least _one_ decent Slytherin."

"If you're talking probability, then yeah, I'm forced to agree with you," Spencer reluctantly conceded. "Otherwise, I'd say _hell_ no. You always see the good side, Emily. It's the Hufflepuff curse." Emily just sighed. She didn't think it was a bad thing, being empathetic and understanding. She didn't necessarily interact with many Slytherins, didn't really have _any_ Slytherin friends actually, but the limited interactions she did have the green-and-silver house were at least civil.

"Speaking of probability…any chance you might, _probably_, get back to looking over my essay?" Hanna asked sweetly. Spencer gave her an incredulous look.

"Han…that's not even…" Aria began.

"Whatever, you know what I mean!"

Emily went back to her thoughts, thinking about when the girls had all met each other. She and Hanna Marin had always known each other, or at least it seemed that way to them. Their parents knew each other from school. Hanna's mother had started her career as a curse-breaker for the Goblins at Gringott's, and she was a friend of Pam's during their years in Hogwarts, although both belonged to different houses (Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, respectively). They often practiced DADA counter-curses with each other, with Pam crediting Ashley with the spell she used to out-curse Wayne. She didn't meet Hanna's father, a Muggle, until she moved from curse-breaking to working in the Goblin Liaison Office. He was a lawyer who worked for the Goblin's in the Muggle-world, and although his knowledge of the Wizarding World was limited, he fell in love with and married Ashley. Pam and Ashley kept in touch over the years, and after both girls had been born, play dates for both girls were set-up whenever possible. Not too long before Hanna received her letter from Hogwarts did her parents begin to fight more, finally resulting in their divorce. It had been Emily that Hanna would confide in and be consoled by throughout her parents' ordeal, and Hanna enjoyed the stability of the Field's home where she was always welcome. They both met Spencer during this time, when Ashley sought Wizarding counsel and received the very best in Veronica Hastings. Upon learning that they both had daughters the same age, Hanna was introduced to Spencer who in turn was introduced to Emily. It wasn't until they boarded the Hogwarts Express that they met their final member, Aria Montgomery, whom Spencer befriended when she happened upon her being bullied by some kids who were taunting her about being Muggle-born. The girls were eager to accept her into the group and they had been inseparable since then, even after The Sorting.

"Hey Em? Emmily!"

Shaking herself out of her reverie, Emily looked up. The girls had all gathered their stuff and seemed to have been waiting on her to do the same.

"You ready to go?"

Emily looked down at her barely eaten cereal.

"I'll catch up. You guys go ahead."

"Are you sure?" Spencer asked. "I can wait around if you want. Hagrid usually gives us a little leeway since the trip to his hut takes a bit."

"It's ok, promise. I'll see you later!" Emily waved good-bye to the girls, was briefly squeezed by Hanna in a tight hug, and returned to eating her breakfast after they left. She didn't want to dwell on her father leaving and so her thoughts turned instead to the girls' discussion about Slytherins. Looking across the Hall to the Slytherin table, she watched the students who were still sitting around either finishing up their meals like she was currently doing (or supposed to be doing) or chatting with friends. She hated that her friends were discriminated against, whether because of house or heritage, but it was also no secret that Gryffindors and Slytherins loathed each other completely. Even if there was a decent Slytherin in the mix, she doubted they would be friendly to a Gryffindor. She had had plenty of classes with Slytherins, as it was unavoidable, over the years and although she never went out of her way to befriend any of them she was always very nice to anyone, house loyalties aside. Hufflepuffs were usually the ones to have friends across all houses, not just their own, as they truly believed in giving anyone and everyone a chance. This didn't mean they were pushovers, but they did give loyalty to those who earned it from them.

She found herself staring at one girl in particular, with reddish-brown hair that was French braided down her back, who seemed to be trying to finish her meal as another girl chatted with her. She'd seen the girl before, every now and then in classes and even on the Quidditch Pitch when she would go cheer for her house and friends. The other girl looked up from her own cereal bowl, locking eyes with Emily for a brief moment. Embarrassed at being caught staring, Emily blushed and ducked her head quickly to stare at her food. When she looked up, the girl was eating her food and nodding to whatever the other girl was saying. Eating quickly, Emily finished and grabbed her stuff to head over to the dungeons for Potions Class not noticing the girl she had locked eyes with watched her go.

* * *

"Why was the goody-goody 'puff watching you?"

Paige shrugged as she munched on her cereal.

"I don't know, Pru," Paige uttered after she swallowed her food. "Aren't you the one interested in Legilimency? Go pick apart her mind, not mine."

The other girl, Pru, scoffed.

"Yeah, but she has to be staring at _me_ in order for me to 'pick apart' her mind, and she was most definitely staring at _you_. You two know each other? Never pegged you as a 'puff lover," Pru remarked mockingly.

"Oh please. She looked at me and I happened to look at her. You're acting as if we both shouted our undying love to each other across the Hall or something," Paige drawled, rolling her eyes at her best friend and taking another bite of her cereal. To be honest, Paige did know her, or at least knew of her. She had noticed her since their first class together, Transfiguration, their first year. _Emily Fields_.

"Whatever. I know that girl. Emily Fields, right? Her and her band of misfits are always running the halls together," Pru noted flippantly. "She's friends with those _mudblood_ Gryffindors and that neurotic Ravenclaw."

"Look, don't say that word around me. And neurotic Ravenclaw? You'll have to be more specific than that," Paige grunted, taking another bite of her cereal.

"You know who I'm talking about!" Pru snapped, "That obnoxious Hastings girl. There's no way she's related to Melissa. Ugh, I can't stand her," Pru fumed, hearing but not acknowledging Paige's refusal to hear the word mudblood. It was just a word, anyway, and Paige could be so touchy.

"Yeah, isn't Hastings the one who's always outscoring you on the pitch?" Paige asked. Paige and Pru had both made the Slytherin Quidditch team their third year, due to the large amount of Slytherin players that had graduated; Paige was the Keeper whereas Pru was one of the three chasers.

"Like you're one to talk! You're the one who lets her!" Pru retorted, slightly miffed.

"Yeah, I 'let' her. Hastings is pretty good, considering she just made the Ravenclaw team this year, but need I remind you, I'm the top ranked Keeper-two years in a row. What's your excuse?" Paige responded sweetly. Pru glared at her. "C'mon, you know I'm just messing with you. Hastings is quite obnoxious," Paige replied, extending an olive branch to her friend.

"She's always trying to be the teacher's pet. Too bad you beat her to it in Care of Magical Creatures huh?" Pru said smiling, glad that Paige wasn't goading her anymore. It was no secret that Hagrid tended to favor Paige a bit more than the others—Paige stayed after every class and even helped Hagrid on weekends to take care of his creatures, especially the aquatic ones which she had become quite skilled at handling. Her natural talent combined with her desire to work hard meant advanced, independent courses and of course, the occasional preferential treatment.

"Well you can't be good at _everything_, Merlin knows she tried…all those Ravenclaws, really. Hastings may be a pretty good Quidditch player but when it comes to getting her hands dirty anywhere else, she draws the line," Paige explained, shrugging. "I just don't mind getting dirty."

"You're such a guy, Paige! So are you going to stay after class today? Wait, of course you are," Pru said, answering her own question. "You always make me come to lunch alone on Mondays!"

"Quit your whining, it's not like you have to sit by yourself. I'm just gonna go to the cove where Hagrid keeps some of the injured Black Lake creatures. I'll check on them to make sure they're ok and I'll be here to keep you company and listen to you yap it up," Paige said, to which Pru punched her playfully on the arm.

"Fine, but don't make me wait too long."

* * *

Emily was scribbling furiously in her notebook, trying her best to keep up with Professor Snape's lecture. Maybe it was the lag she felt from breakfast earlier, but it seemed as if he was zooming right through the lesson and seconds later they were asked to make an antidote, in groups luckily. Catching the eye of Aria and Hanna, and throwing an arm around Lucas before he was grabbed by someone else, Emily walked them both over to where her friends were seated.

"Thank _Merlin_ that Snape doesn't randomly choose our groups," Hanna declared, a little too loudly for Emily's taste.

"Shhh! Just be grateful and keep your mouth shut!" Lucas whispered, before Emily could say anything. Lucas Gottesman was also a Hufflepuff and he and Emily tended to pair up in class. Much like anyone who wasn't a Slytherin, Lucas was terrified of Professor Snape.

"He's right, let's just get to business. Whose cauldron are we using?" Emily asked, scanning her notes for which potions they could choose from.

"The bottom of mine is still melted through, after last week's disaster. Mom said she'd send one through the post by the end of the week," Hanna announced.

"Here, just use mine," Aria offered, pulling hers out from under the desk. "So what are we brewing?"

"Well Professor Snape gave us a few options as to which antidote we could brew up," Lucas began, peering over at Emily's notes and cross-referencing them with his own.

"Let's make a love potion!" Hanna cried out excitedly.

"Han, what part of antidote made you think a love potion was the obvious choice?" Aria inquired. "You always want to brew a love potion, _you can't just brew up a love potion_!"

"Sorry! Just trying to keep things interesting. Maybe we can feed it to Snape and…" Hanna started, but trailed off when she caught the Potions Master scowling at her. Quailing under his look, she dove into Emily's book. "So what ingredients do we need? I'll get them!"

"What do you think guys? Here's an Antidote for Common Poisons, let's just do that. Um, Han, go grab all of this, ok?" Emily said, pointing to the list. "Don't forget the bezoar!" she yelled at the blonde's retreating form.

"I'll watch her," Aria sighed, quickly following her friend. Emily and Lucas started setting their station up, making sure the flame was lit and the cauldron was in its place. Thinking earlier about their conversation, Emily wondered what Lucas might have to offer.

"Hey Lucas, I was wondering, do you have any friends that are Slytherins?" Emily asked, as she adjusted the temperature of the flame. Lucas looked up at her from his notes, not entirely sure why Emily was asking him that question.

"Not really. But to be fair, I am beyond terrified to be around them," Lucas answered.

"Why terrified?" Emily asked, looking over to check on Hanna and Aria, who seemed to be struggling over something. She looked back at Lucas.

"I guess I'm not terrified, I'm just more than slightly intimidated. Where is this coming from?" Lucas asked, noting that Emily seemed to not want her friends around for this discussion.

"Nowhere, really. It's nothing," Emily shrugged. She watched the other two walk over, hands full of ingredients.

"Aria tried to take the bezoar from me!" Hanna said indignantly.

"I did not, you grabbed the wrong thing!" Aria objected. They laid the ingredients out and looked to Emily.

"Alright, let's do this."

* * *

Emily opened the doors, enjoying the sunlight that streamed down upon her as she walked out onto the grounds of Hogwarts. Professor Snape ended up letting their class go a little earlier than usual, a rare privilege he offered to practically no class, but no one dared questioned his dismissal. Emily suspected it might have to do with more than one groups' cauldron being destroyed that afternoon. She stepped to the side to allow a group of first years to run through, fresh from their first flying lesson, smiling as she remembered her first time on a broom. It wasn't anything too wild, but she was happy that she managed to float above the ground a bit on her first try. Crossing the enormous lawn, Emily turned towards the direction of Hagrid's Hut where Care of Magical Creatures was held. She usually met Spencer halfway while the other two waited for them in the Great Hall for lunch. Emily enjoyed walking outside after being pent up in the dungeons for such a long time, that by midyear it was just another habit. Taking her time, Emily made her way down the footpath but stopped when she caught the sight of someone running. She checked quickly to make sure the person wasn't being chased, and upon finding no one, watched the person disappear from her sight. Emily was almost certain it was a girl although she was less certain as to the identity of that girl. Whoever it was happened to be in pretty good shape, running that fast and non-stop. She thought she had caught the glint of reddish-brown hair, which piqued her curiosity. _Could it be that girl from breakfast? _Looking towards the area that the girl disappeared, Emily pulled her wand out as she contemplated whether she should investigate.

It was a well-known fact in the girls' little group that Emily could not get lost. Each of them excelled at a certain subject, more so than the others, and for Emily it was Charms. She was so good at Charms that by her third year she was already making her own spells, either by tweaking already existing spells or coming up with new ones entirely. For instance, in class they had learned about a spell that would always point one's wand north, simply by saying "Point me". Emily figured out a way to make her wand point to any direction she desired, but more specifically towards _anything_ she wanted. If she ever happened to be stuck somewhere, she could have her wand point her towards an exit. Or, like now, if she wanted to investigate something that piqued her interest, she could have her wand point her to the direction of her current curiosity. Laying her wand flat on her upturned palm, Emily watched it spin around until it pointed her towards the direction of the Black Lake. Deciding that she had some time before classes officially let out, Emily made her way towards the large body of black water.

It was common knowledge that the lake was not in fact, black, but rather there were parts of the lake that were so deep, people on the surface could only see black spots. Stories of students spotting the Giant Squid were endless, whether it was from the tiny freshmen fresh from their journey across the lake on their first night at Hogwarts, or upper classmen that hung around the shores. She remembered a classmate of hers, Noel, bragging about how he actually touched one of the Giant Squid's tentacles, but no one really believed him. The lake wasn't too far away, but it was quite a walk from the front of the school.

As much as Emily didn't want to, her thoughts drifted back to her parents and her father. Class was good for keeping her mind focused elsewhere, but now that she was alone she had no external reasons keeping her from dwelling on her father's soon-to-be absence. She was very proud that her father was regarded so highly and had a prominent position that was recognized all across the Wizarding World, but sometimes she wished that he had a different job, one that required him sitting behind a desk, preferably indoors. Many of her parents' stories kept her on the edge of her seat, wide-eyed and clutching her favorite stuffed-toy that was given to her by Hanna (a _shark_, she called it) when she was a little girl, gasping whenever her parents recalled how they barely escaped a dark wizard's evil curse, or managed to escape a booby-trapped hideout just in the nick of time. Thinking about it now, she wondered if they had slightly exaggerated their escapades, and if not, it made her feel even more worried that those things would happen to her father now, and what if he was just a second too slow? She didn't really want to think of those kinds of scenarios anymore.

Emily reached the shoreline, looking out at the vast black surface that appeared to be endless as it met the horizon. The weather was warm, the sun bright as its rays were absorbed by the calm surface of the lake. Emily knew there was more to the Black Lake than just the Giant Squid, with some students convinced that there was actually a colony of Merpeople living in there as well. The Black Lake was off limits to students, as far as recreationally, but she did hear about certain clubs using the shallow shores for different purposes. Hanna, as part of her Herbology extra credit, had to collect samples of different plants that could be found in the lake and she ventured about knee-deep in the water to acquire the samples she needed. She told the girls the water was quite cold, the bottom was mushy, and she swore she could feel "lake-critters" rubbing up against her legs. Hanna loved Herbology, but she was not a fan of being in the muddy water.

Making sure she was still headed in the right direction, Emily did the spell again, and watched as her wand pointed her to the right. It looked like she was being pointed towards a wooded area, the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest where it met the shoreline of the lake. As a staunch believer in following the rules, Emily almost turned around because she knew that the forest was off limits to all students, but a part of her reasoned that if she stayed in the area between the edge of the forest and the shore of the lake, she would technically not be in the Forbidden Forest. She really wanted to know where that girl had run off too and her stubbornness in finding what it could be would not be deterred by a forest. Even if she was kind of scared of what might be in there…she walked on, careful to not step foot outside of the sandy shore onto the thin strands of grass. The shoreline she thought was endless actually looked to be obstructed, as there were huge rocks placed close to the shoreline that blocked the view. Emily continued to walk, noticing that there was a small path worn around the rocks and she saw that the shoreline curved sharply inland making what appeared to be a decently sized cove, or pocket, of water. It looked like a pool, with only a few creatures privy to the privacy of the pool.

It didn't take Emily long to notice that in addition to the sea creatures, there was the girl she had followed wading in the middle of the water. She knew that girl, or at least recognized her. She was definitely the girl she had locked eyes with during breakfast. Launching herself quickly behind the rocks, Emily peered around them to take a better look at the girl. She hadn't been noticed, as the girl seemed to be talking out loud, whether to herself or to the creatures Emily wasn't too sure. It was soon apparent that the girl was in fact talking to the creatures around her, more specifically what appeared to be a pretty decent sized turtle. It looked to be about as long as Emily was tall and Emily wandered how the creature even made its way through the small channel that connected the cove to the lake. She figured there must be a bigger opening under the water. She watched the girl swim back towards the shore, finding a spot where she could both stand and where the turtle could still comfortably swim. The girl pulled her wand out (from where, Emily wasn't exactly sure) and began waving it around the turtle who was swimming lazily around her. Emily watched as the reddish-brown haired girl grabbed the shell of the turtle gently, talking soothingly as she did, and maneuvered it so that it stayed still. The turtle didn't seem to be anxious, in fact it watched patiently as the girl moved her wand slowly above its front left flipper. Although she couldn't see too much, Emily saw that a huge chunk of the turtle's flipper seemed to have been bitten off. Faintly, very faintly, Emily's ears picked up on the soft tones that were coming from the girl as she sang to the turtle.

_She's…_singing_ to it_? Emily thought, her eyebrows quirked in confusion. Taking her eyes off the girl, she looked at her wand and its placement and noticed that the flesh on the turtle's flipper was actually scarring at an incredibly fast rate and suddenly, Emily realized what she was doing. _She's healing that turtle!_ Emily thought, smiling widely. _That's amazing_… Emily stayed like that for a bit, watching as the girl patched up the turtle. She looked at her, the girl's reddish-brown hair still in the French braid but soaking wet from the water. The girl was wearing a simple t-shirt, with the rest of her uniform abandoned on the sand. Emily thought she was pretty and admired that someone would spend their time doing something like this, healing wounded animals, and she even appreciated how the top the girl was wearing looked like a second skin on her because of the water. It was clinging to her arms, arms that looked petite, but strong and further down, Emily couldn't help but notice how tight the shirt clung to the girl's chest…

With that, Emily fell, not realizing that in her scrutinizing (_appreciating_) of the healer girl, she had lost her footing as she tried to move closer. She emitted an "eep!" before she hit the sand and she heard a splash as the girl in the water turned around to look at her. Jumping up quickly, Emily brushed herself off and tried to make eye contact with the other girl but blushed and looked away when her own eyes locked with the narrowed eyes of the other.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't, I mean, I wasn't trying to _spy_ on your or anything, I just saw you and—no, it's not like I was _following_ you, well I did, but then I saw what you were doing and I didn't want to interrupt and I thought maybe I could watch you—not like, _watch_ you in a _creepy_ way but, but I thought it was cool what you were doing, and…and I'm sorry!" Emily gushed, her apology coming out as a jumbled mess of words, panic and guilt. She chanced a glance at the girl, who was still watching her skeptically, to which Emily couldn't really blame her, and she wished now more than ever that she could disapparate (even though she could hear Spencer's nagging reminder that _you can't apparate or disapparate on Hogwarts' grounds!_). They stood in silence for a bit and Emily used it to catch her breath, inhaling deeply.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bother you, I just thought what you were doing was really cool. My name is Emily Fields, what's yours?" Emily asked, the skittish, panic-ridden voice she had used only moments before replaced by a calmer, collected voice that her friends' often joked made both boys and girls swoon. It was this confidence that Paige was unprepared for, as she was more than willing to stare down the girl who had interrupted her work, Emily Fields or not. Blushing, she ducked her head, silently cursing herself for being such a _girl_.

"Um, it's McCullers. Paige," the other girl stammered, thinking there was no way she could sound more like an idiot, "Just call me Paige." She looked at Emily, who was beaming at her, and blushed again. _Dammit, what the hell is wrong with you_! Paige thought.

"Well it was very nice to meet you, Paige McCullers. I hope that I didn't mess you up or anything," Emily expressed sincerely, walking closer to the water.

"No, no. Not at all," Paige assured her, finally looking at Emily. She had always been intrigued by Emily, although she was never entirely sure why. The girl was smart, especially in Charms class, and she seemed to be very friendly to everyone. Maybe Paige always just wanted to be her friend, and why not? Paige's eyes honed in on the yellow-and-black crest that was embroidered on Emily's robes. _Oh, that's why_. It wasn't like she didn't have any friends outside of Slytherin…well, that wasn't _exactly_ true. She'd get so much crap from her fellow Slytherins, especially from her best friend, Pru. Looking down, Paige caught site of a tiny stream of red dripping down Emily's palm, which was hanging by her side.

"Hey, it looks like you cut yourself," Paige exclaimed, pointing to Emily's hand. Emily looked at her hand, surprised.

"Crap. Guess I should've been paying more attention," Emily said, wiping her hand on her robes and thinking next time she shouldn't be such a creeper.

"Here, I can help. Let me look at it," Paige said, as she walked onto the shore towards Emily not noticing the way Emily blushed and looked away from her as she emerged from the lake. Paige was all business at this point. Putting her wand in her mouth, and biting lightly on it to keep it in place, Paige motioned for Emily's hand to which Emily acquiesced. Paige held her hand lightly in her own two hands, her left thumb resting on Emily's fingers as her right thumb brushed away the sand and blood from the wound on Emily's palm. Goosebumps lined Emily's arms as she was caressed by Paige, which she was sure was meant to be taken as a soothing gesture, considering that Paige seemed to be a healer of some sort. She caught the light scent of the lake from Paige, mixed with a more subtle aroma she couldn't quite place, which she assumed was the girl's own natural smell. Whatever it was, it was making Emily light-headed and she tried her hardest to stare down at the ground when she realized just how close Paige was to her, with her top plastered onto her skin from the water. Letting her go with her right hand, Paige grabbed her wand.

"Don't worry, it's not that deep. Looks like you caught the jagged edge of a rock, s'all," Paige assured the black-haired girl, taking Emily's refusal to look up as a sign of discomfort due to the wound. She pointed her wand at the cut on Emily's palm, muttered an incantation, and both girls watched as the skin healed. "There you go, good as new."

"Good as new? I'd say better! Thank you very much," Emily exclaimed, her enthusiasm causing Paige to duck her head again.

"It's no big deal. Just happens to be something I don't completely suck at it," Paige confessed, her head still down.

"Hey, you did a good job and I'm thanking you for it," Emily said softly, smiling when Paige looked up at her and nodded.

"Well it was a pleasure, Ms. Fields," Paige said, bowing formally and causing Emily to giggle.

"I guess I better leave you alone now. I'm sure you didn't plan on having to heal up a clumsy Hufflepuff," Emily observed. "Guess I'll see you around?" Emily didn't want to go, but she was sure the girl, Paige, was completely annoyed at her intrusion and was just being nice to make her feel better. _Wait_… "Aren't…aren't you a Slytherin?" Emily asked out loud. She knew the girl was, remembered seeing her in the Great Hall at the Slytherin table, wearing Slytherin robes.

"Yeah, I am. Surprised?" Paige asked, her voice losing the lighthearted-joking from before. Emily could sense that a wall was being erected between the two and she wanted to stop that as soon as possible.

"No, I'm sorry. It's just that, my friends were just talking about how there couldn't be a nice Slytherin."

"Like they're ones to talk. I've met plenty of mean Ravenclaws and even nastier Gryffindors," Paige muttered darkly. And this is why she didn't have any friends outside of Slytherin. She knew that Gryffindors were always quick to judge, but she had always heard that Hufflepuffs gave everyone a fair chance. Paige was actually kind of hurt.

"Hey, I know we just met, but please listen. I didn't agree with them, I know that Gryffindors and Slytherins are always fighting. I didn't think they were being fair, but you usually don't think to be fair when you've been bullied by a certain group of people," Emily said slowly, defending both herself and her friends. Paige had to agree with her, even if it was silently. "And now I know that I was right."

"Right about what, exactly?" Paige asked, still somewhat annoyed at the conversation.

"Well you're nice."

"Not all the time."

"So? You're nice to me even though I intruded on something private. You even healed me. I knew that Slytherins couldn't all be mean," Emily continued. "Or, I guess I should say, couldn't be mean _all_ the time."

Paige looked at Emily, who couldn't help but smile at her small play on words.

"You don't have to go, you could stay here for a bit. I've never talked with a Hufflepuff outside of class," Paige offered, hoping that Emily would stay.

"Ok, but I'm not just a Hufflepuff and you're not just a Slytherin. We're Emily and Paige," Emily said, liking the way she said their names together, even if she wasn't quite sure why. Paige, too, liked the way she said their names together like that. Emily and Paige. Maybe she could finally be friends with Emily Fields. That's all she's wanted, right?

"First thing's first, are you not cold? You need to get dried off!" Emily declared, joking but not really joking, because although she was beyond confused about her feelings about the matter, she knew for certain that she just couldn't handle being around a soaking wet Paige anymore.

"I'm fine, really."

"No, I insist! I can do it," Emily said pulling her wand from inside her robes and pointing it at Paige, who looked at her suspiciously.

"How do I know you're…"

"I let you heal me, remember? We can use this as a trust building exercise." _Please_, Emily pleaded silently, _just let me do this!_

"Trust building?" Paige echoed, not quite sure what Emily meant. Was it just her, or was Emily acting kind of strange?

"Sure. You healed me, I dry you. C'mon, let me _charm_ you," Emily replied, throwing an exaggerated wink at Paige who couldn't help but laugh at her antics.

"Ok, fine. Only because I know you're the best when it comes to charms," Paige said without thinking, which made Emily cock her head to the side.

"How do you know I'm the best?" Emily asked, momentarily distracted.

"Umm, I just remember Flitwick always complimenting you in class, s'all," Paige muttered. "Are you gonna get me dry or not?"

With a wave of her wand, Emily managed to get rid of all the water clinging to Paige, which meant that her clothes fit a bit looser and also made Emily a little less light-headed. She was glad that she had followed Paige here, thinking that she and Paige were going to be great friends. Needless to say, neither girl made it to lunch that afternoon, and both made it to their next class with just seconds to spare. Both girls ended up getting chewed out by their best friends, but both girls knew it was totally worth it. And it wasn't until Emily snuggled into her bed that night, thinking about her afternoon with Paige, that she realized she hadn't been sad since meeting her.


	3. Fifth Year

**Greetings! So if you follow my other fic, Point of No Return, then you know that I am experiencing quite the writer's block on that story...and this story has become the way I circumvent that block. I'm so glad all of you like the story, as it's becoming one of my favorite things to write. The best part about this fic is that I get to write all the action parts, kind of like shooting the good scenes for a trailer. Anywho, please R/R, tell me what your favorite scene is or whatever you want. Don't be afraid to argue Hogwarts or PLL canon with me! lol and I also wanted to say that the Pru I've written in this story is modeled slightly after Rooonie's take on Pru in the "Continued Your Hand In Mine" story mixed with my version of Hanna lol. Hope you all enjoy :) - ASE**

* * *

**On the Sly**

**Chapter** **3**

"Paige, you shouldn't have done that. It was kind of mean."

It was mid-afternoon and both Paige and Emily were lying down on a blanket a few feet away from the shore of the Black Lake, in the hidden cove where Emily first met Paige. An empty plate sat between the two girls, with Paige looking up at the sky with her arms folded behind her head and Emily propped up on her elbows looking over at her. Paige wasn't looking at Emily however.

"Your friends shouldn't be so nosy," she said simply. Emily sighed. The first couple weeks of returning to Hogwarts from the summer were always kind of hectic, which meant that Emily couldn't get away to meet Paige as soon as she would have liked (especially now that she had been made a Hufflepuff Prefect). After their first afternoon together, both girls had decided that keeping their friendship a secret would be best—both girls had different reasons for doing so and both remained secretive as to why. For Paige, she really didn't want to be the butt of any jokes from her fellow Slytherins. For Emily, she really didn't want to face her friends. However, both girls really liked the idea of keeping the other to herself.

Emily felt bad about keeping the truth about her friendship with Paige a secret from her friends, but she felt better when she reasoned that she wasn't actually lying to them. Unfortunately, Paige had sent her a letter through owl-post that ended up making her actually lie to her friends. The letter's envelope held no clue as to who the sender was, as the only name it had on it was "Ms. Emily Fields", but when Hanna had reached for it, she quickly pulled her hand back.

"_Emily! Who the hell sent that letter to you?! It shocked me!" Hanna cried out in surprise, looking at her hand in confusion._

"_What? There's no way—hey!" Aria yelped as she too tried to grab the envelope. Wide-eyed, she glanced across the table to Spencer, then Emily. Sighing, Emily reached for her mail._

"_Wait, Em—" Spencer started to say, but stopped when Emily plucked the envelope from the bread basket where it had fallen. "Did someone seriously charm a letter so that only _you_ could touch it?"_

"_Emily Fields!" Hanna shrieked happily, her pain immediately forgotten, "Are you seeing someone?!"_

"_Trying to keep it under the radar?" Aria asked as she massaged her hand, the pain not quite forgotten._

"_Radar?" Emily repeated, puzzled. She looked at the letter, knowing who it was from the moment it landed on their table. "It's probably from my cousin, he's always pulling pranks. No big deal."_

"Let me guess, both Gryffindors received shocks that morning?" Paige said, smirking. Emily frowned. She lay back down, crossing her arms and looking away from Paige completely. Paige tried to, but couldn't ignore Emily now. She probably shouldn't have gone that far, but Paige knew that Emily's friends were nosy. Too nosy, for her liking, and she didn't want them to know their business. It also probably didn't help that not only did her method work, but that she got some kind of satisfaction from it. Even if it was a little bit. Ok, maybe a lot, but she just knew the two Gryffindors would act before thinking. She sat up.

"I'm sorry Emily. You're right, it was kind of mean," Paige apologized. Emily looked at her, arms still crossed as she tried to assess whether or not the other girl was being sincere. "It wasn't too much of a shock for them, was it?"

"Are you trying to be funny?" Emily asked, her eyes narrowed.

"Well…no, but it was pretty clever right?" Paige asked, smiling hopefully. Emily shoved her playfully.

"It's not clever if you didn't intend for it to happen!" she pointed out, watching as Paige threw herself down on the blanket dramatically. "And thanks for your concern, but Hanna and Aria are fine. Just don't do it again, ok?"

"Sure, sure. Next time…how about I just send them Howlers as distractions?" Paige offered and Emily scoffed.

"Yeah, then your voice would be shouting at them, thick head. Thought you were supposed to be cunning?" Emily retorted as she laid back down. Paige rolled over onto her stomach to look at Emily.

"Touche. I blame summer break. It always takes me a bit to get back on my game," Paige divulged, making Emily laugh. Emily had gotten a shade darker over the summer and her face had become just a bit more defined. She had told Paige that she spent a lot of her time swimming outside, which accounted for her tan and Paige could tell that she was also looking more toned from her exercising. It was natural for her to notice something like that, Paige thought to herself as her eyes roved up and down Emily's form appreciatively. Looking back up at Emily, who appeared to have been watching what Paige was doing, the brown-haired girl held her gaze before lying back down on her designated side.

"So what's your year looking like, Fields?" Paige asked, thankful her quickening heart beat didn't show in her voice. Emily, whose own heart rate doubled as she watched the way Paige had been looking at her, licked her dry lips before she spoke.

"Umm," she started, having to lick her lips again, "Well I'm supposed to see Professor Sprout next week to talk about career options." Emily couldn't say much more, as she felt her heart thudding against her chest. Her affections for the other girl grew immensely since their first meeting, as she found Paige to be a genuinely caring and trusting person. Seeing the girl for the first time after summer break caused Emily's stomach to flutter, although she couldn't acknowledge that she actually knew her. They happened to see each other after boarding the train when both girls and their respective group of friends were looking for an empty compartment. Hanna, Spencer and Aria had squeezed into the first place they could find and before Emily could follow, Paige winked at her. Emily had to explain to her friends that the reason she was smiling so big was that she was just _really_ happy to be on her way to school. "What about you?"

Paige, who used the time it took for Emily to respond to calm herself down with deep breaths, paused before she spoke. "Supposed to meet with Professor Snape later this week. I'm not too worried though, I've already figured out what I want do anyway." Emily admired that Paige already knew what she wanted to do with her life, whereas she was still struggling to narrow down her career options. Noticing that Emily hadn't said anything, Paige propped herself on an elbow to look at her.

"Have you thought about what you might want to do?" Paige asked her. Emily shook her head.

"Not really. My parents had been talking about that with me, subtly but not so subtly steering me away from being an Auror. Kind of ironic, huh?" Emily acknowledged, remembering the interesting conversation. She supposed a life of danger made one think of the example they were setting for their kids, something her parents probably never thought of at the young age of 18. To be honest, as much as Emily had admired her parents and what they did, she wasn't at all interested in becoming an Auror, although she didn't tell her parents that right away as she was curious about what they might have to say.

"Maybe a bit. It'd be an exciting choice, that's for sure," Paige reasoned. She remembered when Emily had told her who her parents were and what they did. Paige had heard of Wayne Fields from her own father, who talked about him in the highest regard and even Emily's mother, Pam Fields, from her earlier years of service. "You're strong in charms. Maybe you could be a curse-breaker?" Paige suggested.

"I think you need to be strong in Arithmancy, if I remember correctly," Emily countered, remembering that Hanna had mentioned her own career conversation with her mom, Ashley, who had started off as a curse-breaker. "I'm not too fond of the subject."

"Yeah, that's the kind of stuff I expect someone like Hastings to over-excel at," Paige muttered. "I personally didn't find it all that appealing either. I'm sure you and Professor Sprout will come up with some good options. Don't stress too much, Fields." She smiled at Emily, who smiled back at her. "It's only the beginning of the year." Suddenly Paige jumped up, startling Emily.

"Crap, I gotta go! I'm sorry Emily, but I forgot I told Pru I would meet her in a few minutes," Paige explained, pointing her wand at the plate and making it disappear.

"Is it something important?" Emily asked, a tad bit jealous. After all, this was _her_ time with Paige.

"It is and it isn't. I'm supposed to be helping her study. I'll see you soon?" Paige asked, squatting down to be on eye-level with Emily who had sat up.

"I suppose…" Emily gave an exaggerated sigh, making Paige smile. They looked at each other for a bit, Paige's eyes lingering on Emily's lips for a few seconds before she seemed to realize what she was doing. Paige reached towards Emily, tucking a strand of hair behind her ears which caused Emily to close her eyes.

"Soon," Paige echoed, standing back up quickly. "We need to figure out a better way to communicate without suspicion. Until then, I promise to send you notes minus the shock-value."

"Ok," Emily replied thickly. "I'll see you later Paige." She watched Paige grab her cloak and wave good bye to her, disappearing quickly. Emily laid back down, thinking about the small moment they had just shared. It looked like Paige wanted to kiss her…shuddering slightly as she thought of what it would feel like to have Paige's lips covering her own, Emily allowed herself a few moments to enjoy something she was certain would never happen.

* * *

"Damn McCullers, have you been practicing with someone else?" Pru asked, as she sat down heavily on a desk behind her. Slightly winded, with sweat forming on her brow, Pru wasn't at all surprised by Paige's stamina but she wasn't expecting to be tired so quickly. They had to have been in their third round, tops.

"Ready to tap out?" Paige asked, smug. Unlike Pru, Paige remained standing with her wand at the ready.

"Hell no! Let's go again," Pru cried out, getting to her feet and brandishing her wand. "But this is the last time, for today. I think even the great Paige McCullers could use a break." With that, both girls locked eyes, wands at the ready, with steady breaths.

"_Legilimens!"_

Paige braced herself for the intrusion, thankful that Pru had not yet mastered the nonverbal way of entering her mind. She allowed Pru to enter her thoughts, something she had not allowed previously, giving Pru the satisfaction of thinking she was wearing Paige down. This thought Paige kept concealed, as she felt Pru test her boundaries, nudging around her memories until she could find something hidden. Paige offered her false memories—upside down visions of Hogwarts, a group of students walking on the surface of the Black Lake…she sensed Pru's frustration, that she finally realized that Paige was only playing with her. Smug, as she felt Pru pulling away from her, Paige slipped in her defenses allowing a flash of a memory from earlier that day. She panicked, shouting a spell that ejected Pru from her mind with such force, that when Paige came to she saw a confused and angered Pru on the other side of the classroom they were practicing in.

"_Shit_ Paige! Was the necessary?" Pru asked, indignant. It's not like she saw anything _private;_ so Paige was at the cove earlier, big deal.

"I'm sorry, Pru. I didn't expect you to get past my defenses like that," Paige said apologetically. _Had she seen_? "Sorry, I overreacted."

"Damn right you did! You owe me a massage, McCullers!" Pru demanded as she stood up and rubbed her backside. "What the hell did you use, anyway?"

"It was a shield charm," Paige replied. "Good job, though. You're really improving."

"Thanks!" Pru said excitedly, forgetting that she had just been blasted off her feet by her best friend. "Auntie said I was getting a little better and she was glad that you would be the one to help me practice during the school year. Said if anyone could keep their mind a secret, it would be you." Paige nodded, not quite sure whether to take that as a compliment or not. She had always prided herself with her ability to compartmentalize her emotions, but as she became older she wondered if it was actually beneficial to keep herself emotionally closed off all the time. "Let's call it an evening. We've been practicing for a bit. Better rest up for Quidditch practice tomorrow! Are you ready for our first game?"

"You bet I am. First game against Ravenclaw, we're gonna demolish them!" Paige said enthusiastically. She couldn't wait for their season to start.

"Bet you anything I'll outscore that Hastings girl. She's not the one who's been practicing all summer with the top ranked Keeper of the school!" Pru added. She and Paige had been practicing a lot, with Paige giving her tips on how best to get around the Keeper. Paige grinned.

"She won't know what hit her. Her and the rest of those high-strung Ravenclaws," Paige agreed. Although Paige had agreed to take it easy on Emily's friends, as far as Paige was concerned anything goes on the Quidditch Pitch. She wasn't too big of a fan of Hastings, whom she had run into the first week after hours. Paige had run up to the Owlery at the last minute, after debating all day whether or not she should send a letter to Emily about when the could meet up, when she ran past Hastings on the stairwell coming down.

"_McCullers, right?" Spencer said, grabbing Paige's arm as she was nearly knocked over._

"_Yeah it is," Paige replied curtly, yanking her arm from the girl's hold._

"_You do realize it's after hours, right?" Spencer said slowly, as if she was speaking to someone who didn't understand English._

"_Um yeah, I do. I had to take care of something, not that it's any of your business," Paige spat, annoyed with the girl's superior attitude._

"_It's is my business considering you nearly knocked me over and I'm a Prefect. A Slytherin sneaking around after hours? How about two points from Slytherin? One for being out late and another for your attitude," Spencer said smugly. Paige clenched her fists in anger, seconds away from reaching for her wand, detention be damned. The only thing that stopped her was Emily, who she was certain would not forgive her if she outright cursed one of her friends. Gritting her teeth, Paige left without saying another word._

"You ready to go?" Pru asked. Paige nodded, gathering her stuff up.

"You know, I wasn't kidding about that massage."

* * *

Later than night, after both Paige and Pru had gone to bed (and after a decent massage from Paige), Pru kept replaying the memory that Paige had tried to keep from her. She cherished it as something like her first trophy, if you will, a prize she had won and earned for her efforts. It was interesting, being in a memory that wasn't yours, and since Pru hadn't been privy to the memory in its entirety, she wondered why Paige had kept it hidden. Maybe it had something to do with how the memory made Pru feel inexplicably happy, like she'd never been this happy in her entire life. Wondering what could have made Paige feel that cheerful, Pru drifted off to sleep, enjoying the calming effects of the sun and the Black Lake.

* * *

"Let's go Ravenclaw!"

"Woohoo! Gooo Spencer!"

The first game of the year between Ravenclaw and Slytherin was shaping up to be a pretty good one, with both teams bringing everything they had to win. Ravenclaw was currently in the lead, the score 100 to 80, with Ravenclaw's Team Captain Spencer Hastings leading in goals scored. Emily watched anxiously as both of her friends were pitted against each other, not exactly sure who she should be rooting for. Even though they were losing, Paige didn't seem to upset about it, which Emily guessed was why she had been elected as Slytherin Team Captain. Paige was good about keeping her cool.

"What's wrong Emily? You're supposed to boo with us when Slytherin scores!" Hanna declared, looking at her friend as if she'd lost her mind.

"Oh my bad. I was just looking for the snitch," Emily lied. If she couldn't openly root for Paige, or Slytherin, Emily was sure as hell not gonna join in on booing them. Yell for Ravenclaw and don't boo for Slytherin…that was fair, right? She didn't even want to think of what she was going to have to do when Slytherin played Gryffindor later that month.

"Mona's just taking her time. You know she'll catch it whenever she's ready to end the game," Hanna chided. Mona, the smallest girl in fifth year, had been the Ravenclaw Seeker almost as soon as she had come to Hogwarts. She was small, fast, and terribly clever.

"Oh of course," Emily agreed, looking back up at the game. She watched as Spencer was thrown the quaffle and raced to the other side of the pitch. Paige kept herself at the center of the goal posts, her eyes narrowed as she waited to see what tricks Spencer was going to try and pull. Suddenly another Ravenclaw Chaser swooped in, blocking Spencer from Paige's view momentarily, before flying over Paige and the goal posts. Paige, however, took no notice of the distraction, moving lower to trick Spencer into thinking the posts weren't being protected and that Paige had in fact been fooled by their play.

Emily pulled on her hair, thinking that she knew what was going to happen but had to see it anyway.

Both Hanna and Aria yelled out, "Watch out, Spencer!" at the same time.

CRASH!

Paige had darted up quickly, right when Spencer was about to throw the quaffle, grabbing the quaffle as soon as it left Spencer's hand. Spencer, who had thought she was in the clear, was clipped by the other girl's broom which ended up causing her to barrel roll a couple times, almost knocking her off of her broom. Righting herself, she glared at the Slytherin Keeper who was smirking at her with the quaffle under her arm.

"Foul! Foul!" half the stadium chanted, while the other laughed uproariously.

"Hey, is she allowed to do that! KNOCK THAT SMUG LOOK OFF HER FACE, SPENCE!" Aria yelled, surprising Emily.

"What? Isn't that a foul?" Aria asked, looking around for support.

"Technically, no," a voice behind them said. The girls turned and looked. It was Noel Kahn, one of the Gryffindor beaters. "Keepers are allowed to defend their posts, with little restriction. And McCullers never actually touched Spencer, no bodily contact, which is kind of remarkable. Both girls knew what they were doing." Any other time the girls would have ignored Noel, but they knew that he knew his Quidditch.

"Ugh, whatever. At least Slytherin's going to lose—" Hanna stated, too soon.

"AND SLYTHERIN CATCHES THE SNITCH! SLYTHERIN WINS THE FIRST MATCH OF THE SEASON, 240 TO 100!"

"MERLIN'S BEARD!" Hanna screamed. "How did that happen?!"

"Looks like Ravenclaw wanted to call a timeout, but they took too long. McCullers's little diversion tactic gave their Seeker a chance to locate the Snitch while everyone booed them. Not bad," Noel said, impressed. "No wonder she's team captain."

* * *

Emily, Aria, and Hanna waited patiently outside of the locker rooms for Spencer, who was taking a little longer than usual. Andrew, one of the beaters, told the girls he suspected she was trying to drown herself in the showers, but soon after he left Spencer appeared.

"Hey Spence," Aria said cautiously. Spencer just nodded at her.

"At least you scored the most points," Hanna pointed out. "Those Slytherin Chasers could barely keep a hold of the quaffle!"

"I guess. Ugh, that just makes me so mad! I should've disputed that foul McCullers made, I could've gotten a penalty shot!" Spencer fumed, the air around her crackling slightly.

"Um, Noel Kahn said it wasn't a foul," Emily disclosed, causing the girls to look at her incredulously. "Um…right, Han? Aria?" Emily asked in a small voice. Spencer looked at her like she was seeing her for the first time.

"Are you defending her?" Spencer asked, slightly hurt.

"I just don't think you're being fair," was all Emily said, before someone shouted over at them.

"Good game, Hastings! Maybe next time you'll watch where you're flying, huh?"

Spencer whipped around, as the Slytherin Quidditch team and a few other Slytherins walked around from the other side of the changing rooms.

"Merlin, must you people always travel in packs?" Hanna asked as she rolled her eyes.

"No one's talking to you, half-blood," one of the Slytherins shot back. Emily spotted Paige in the group, who was standing off to the side and (much to Emily's happiness) was not joining in with the other Slytherins. She allowed herself a brief glance before she turned her attention back to her friends.

"Some team captain, huh? And a Ravenclaw… '_wit beyond my measure'_, my ass!" another Slytherin sniggered.

"Let's go," Emily said hurriedly, not wanting a fight to break out between them. Not only were they outnumbered, but they were starting to attract more attention. Spencer was biting her lip, hard, so as not to say anything. As a Prefect, Spencer couldn't risk losing her temper as much as she was being goaded into doing so. Hanna, on the other hand, had pulled her wand out and although she wasn't pointing it anyone, she was gripping it so tight that her wand was starting to emit smoke. Paige, who saw both the look of concern on Emily's face and the way her blonde-haired friend was holding her wand, spoke up.

"C'mon, let Hastings mourn her loss in peace. Celebration in the dormitory, on me," Paige announced, effectively breaking the tension as the Slytherins cheered. Emily watched as one girl jumped on Paige's back and tousled her hair. She knew the girl's name was Pru and that she was Paige's only friend, but Emily couldn't help but feel a pang of resentment towards her. As if feeling the resentment being directed towards her, Pru looked back at Emily, at first with a look of contempt and annoyance which then morphed into one of comprehension and slight confusion. It lasted only a few seconds. In a blink of an eye, Pru had turned her attention back to Paige, whom Emily could see was holding her legs as she allowed Pru to wrap her arms around her neck and ride on her back as she and the rest of the Slytherins walked towards the castle.

"Good riddance," Aria said, looking at the moving crowd with disdain. Looping her arm through Spencer's, Aria walked towards the castle albeit on a different path than the Slytherins. Emily put her arm around Hanna's shoulders, both girls following their friends.

* * *

Paige lay in her bed, curtains drawn, looking up at the top of the canopy of her bed. She didn't feel bad about the move she made against Hastings, as it was perfectly within her rights as a Keeper to do so. Paige had carefully planned out her revenge against the Hastings girl, knew it had to be somewhere out in the open and perfectly legal, so that she would not get in any trouble. As she was against cheating, Paige knew that if she was going to get Hastings on the pitch it had to be planned to a tee. But she hoped her move, no matter how legal within the game of Quidditch, didn't put her at odds with Emily. She couldn't tell what Emily was thinking as her team clashed with the girls, but Paige made sure to avoid anything serious when she saw how upset Emily looked. Wondering if she should risk getting caught again, Paige debated whether she should send another letter to Emily. They really needed to figure out a better way to communicate.

Suddenly, her curtains were drawn and before Paige could reach for her wand, she had the wind knocked out of her by someone landing on her stomach. Whoever it was had drawn the curtains back so that both people remained in the dark. Gasping for air, Paige grabbed her wand, instantly illuminating the face of her intruder.

"Pru?" Paige hissed, "What the hell is going on? We're getting too old for sleepovers!" The other girl sat on top of Paige's stomach, legs crossed, and she watched her friend carefully. "Can I breathe please?" Paige asked, as she propped herself up on her elbows, still grasping her wand. Pru obliged her, scooting back so that she rested right above Paige's thighs.

"I've been thinking," Pru said simply, causing Paige to growl in irritation.

"So you've been thinking. This couldn't wait 'til morning?" Paige asked. She couldn't decipher the look her best friend was giving her. It was a cross between smug satisfaction and pity.

"No, it couldn't wait," was all Pru said as she continued to look at Paige.

"Pru, I'm this close to knocking you unconscious," Paige threatened, pointing her wand at Pru for emphasis.

"No you won't," Pru said, rolling her eyes. "Besides, don't you want to know why I'm here?"

"Because you're infuriating?!" Paige asked, losing her temper slightly. "How about I use legilimency on you, that way I won't have to hear you speak!" Paige wasn't sure what her friend was playing at, but all she wanted to do was be left alone to think about Emily. Think about her in a purely platonic way, of course.

"It's about that Hastings girl's friend, what her name? That Hufflepuff Prefect she hangs out with all the time?"

The way Paige straightened up for a moment only confirmed Pru's suspicion, making her smirk. Of course, Paige slunk back down like nothing happened.

"What about her?" Paige asked dully. Pru could tell it was forced.

"I saw her, you know, going into the Prefect's bathroom with some blonde-haired chick," Pru said, making something up on the spot. She made sure to keep eye contact with Paige, although she knew she didn't have to put too much effort into it because of how distracted Paige was (even if she wasn't trying to show it).

"So?" Paige grunted, "that's probably just one of her friends. Isn't one of the Gryffindors a blonde?" She wasn't sure why Pru was telling her this. And why now? Pru usually filled Paige in on all the previous day's gossip during breakfast.

"Nuh-uh. It wasn't a Gryffindor. What's the Head Girl's name? Samarra?" Pru babbled, looking at Paige for a reaction. Paige wasn't looking at her and her eyebrows were furrowed as if she was trying to figure out something. Finally she responded.

"Why would I care about that? Go to bed, weirdo," Paige said dismissively, rolling over to her side. Disappointed, Pru climbed over her best friend and laid down beside her on her pillow. "Ughh, what do you want now, a bed time story?"

Pru knew she was pushing her friend's limits, but she just had to know!

"Yes please!" she nagged, making Paige groan. "How about you tell me about that time you and that Hufflepuff snuck off to be alone? Together? _By yourselves_?" Paige flicked her wand and narrowed her eyes at her best friend.

"How long have you known?" Paige demanded, not even trying to deny Pru's accusation. Pru hated when she got like this, it was always kind of scary.

"Wh-What did you just do?" Pru asked uncertainly. Ever since Paige mastered nonverbal spellcasting, she could never be sure what Paige was casting.

"Just the muffliato charm, so we can't be overheard. Now tell me, how long have you known?" Paige reiterated, her voice deadly calm. Pru figured it was best to come clean. "Not 'til today, I promise."

Paige sighed.

"How did you find out?" she asked and Pru could detect a little less hostility.

"Remember when we were practicing Legilimency? The first time I got a glimpse of one of your memories…you were by the Lake and I thought 'well why would she want to keep that hidden?' and I thought maybe it was because you were so happy in that memory. Then, when we ran into Hastings and her group after the game, I saw that Hufflepuff girl and then I remembered seeing her in that memory. Wait…is _she_ the reason you were so happy?" Pru uttered, causing Paige to groan in frustration. Of course, Pru just happened to realize that Paige and Emily might be friends, but it didn't dawn on her that maybe it was Emily that Paige was trying to keep a secret. Pru didn't know what Paige thought she knew.

"Merlin's beard, Paige, are you _into_ her?" Pru practically shouted, making Paige even more grateful that she thought to cast the muffliato charm as quickly as she did. Turning on her back, Paige closed her eyes, thinking this was not the conversation she wanted to be having right now. Or ever. Once again, she had the breath knocked out of her when her best friend plopped herself back onto her stomach, making the bed shake.

"Oof! Pru, you have got to stop doing that, people are gonna think we're doing something in here!" Paige exclaimed as soon as she caught her breath.

"Who cares?" Pru countered, "I want to know why you like this Hufflepuff and how come you weren't sneaking off with me!?" Paige's mouth opened in astonishment.

"Are you serious right now? You're my best friend, we're together all the time!" Paige pointed out. Pru scoffed.

"Yeah, but you do romantic things with this girl, right? You never wine and dine me!" Pru huffed, and Paige covered her face with her hands. This was not where she was expecting the conversation to go. Leave it to Pru to make it all about her.

"Pru," she said, her voice slightly muffled by her hands, "Are you seriously asking me why I won't go out with you?"

"So you two are dating!" Pru stated, pumping her fist triumphantly. Paige groaned.

"We're not dating!"

"Well why not?"

Paige looked through her fingers at Pru. "And you wouldn't have a problem if I dated a girl?" Pru just shrugged.

"Doesn't bother me any. But a Hufflepuff, seriously? Why not go for Shana, I know she's been carrying a torch for you for a while now. At least she's a _Slytherin_."

"Wait, who's Shana? How do you know that? And I told you, _Emily and I are not dating_!" Paige snapped. Pru laughed. Her friend was such a dunderhead sometimes.

"You need some rest. How about we finish this tomorrow?" Pru suggested, making Paige roll her eyes.

"Sure, it's over when you say it is, huh?" Paige grumbled.

"Better get used to it, McCullers, if you're gonna start dating girls. Especially that Hufflepuff, by the look of her."

* * *

Now that Pru was in the know how, she was starting to see more and more of the little things. Like how that Hufflepuff sat across the Great Hall with her friends, but in a spot where she could see the Slytherin table perfectly. Or how that Hufflepuff girl's eyes flitted over to the Slytherin table a few too many times to be merely a coincidence. Or how, if Paige ever looked up at her, how the Hufflepuff girl would smile that ridiculously pretty smile of hers and then turn her attention to her ragtag bunch of friends.

"Look, you don't have to call her 'that Hufflepuff' girl all the time. In fact, just don't refer to her at all," Paige stated, exhausted from the other night's activities. Pru had given her a lot to think about and she didn't really get much sleep. Grabbing her customary cereal and milk, Paige poured herself a bowl and dug in.

"She's really pretty. Like_, really_ pretty. Is that why you chose her over me?" Pru asked, scrutinizing the Hufflepuff, ok _Emily_, carefully.

"Will you stop talking!" Paige hissed at her best friend. She was glad for the support, but Pru talked loud and often without thinking.

"Ooh! She's looking over here again, quick! Look at me," Pru instructed and Paige, who missed the first part of what Pru had said, obeyed without thinking. Pru grabbed her chin and looked deeply into her eyes.

"What the hell are you doing?" Paige asked.

"You look tired," was all Pru said and Paige shook her head.

"Can I eat now?"

"If you must." Paige could say her and that Hufflepuff weren't dating as much as she wanted to, but Pru recognized those looks the girl was throwing Paige's way and those were definitely not the looks friends give to each other, secret friendship or not. She was going to enjoy getting a rise out of that Hufflepuff, for as long as she could.

Paige continued with her meal, having given up trying to steal glances at Emily like she usually would be. It was a shame, because if she had, she would have seen Emily jealously watching Pru's antics.

"Um, Em? Is something the matter?" Aria asked her friend, who was looking like she had just been slapped. Or was about to slap someone. _What the hell was that about?_ Emily fumed silently. She had seen the way that girl, Pru, had touched Paige's face and she could've sworn the girl winked at her after letting her go.

"Geeze, Em, tone it down a few notches. You're scaring the first years," Spencer added, the intense look of anger looking foreign on her best friend's face.

"What? Oh, sorry. It's nothing," Emily said, remembering where she was at. "Actually, you know what, I'm not feeling too well. I think I'm gonna go by Madame Pomfrey's before class starts." Without saying anything further, Emily grabbed her stuff and practically stormed out of the Hall.

"Did I miss something?" Hanna asked, as the girls watched her leave.

* * *

Paige was just finishing up checking on the lake creatures in the cove. Hagrid always let her out of class early so that she could spend her time healing the animals that needed her. She could've sworn that she saw an injured Grindylow trying to make its way over, but when she looked again it had disappeared. She had been warned not to leave the water in the cove, unless there was an absolute emergency. Paige made sure to keep an eye on the cove's outlet, in case she saw the creature pop up again.

"Is there something you want to tell me?"

Paige lit up, smiling when she heard Emily's voice. Turning around, Paige's smile quickly faltered when she saw the look Emily was giving her. Did she do something wrong?

"I didn't know you were coming, Fields. Is everything ok?" Paige asked as she swam back to the shore.

"No, just stay there, please," Emily dictated shaking her head, with Paige complying instantly. "I can't think when you're…I mean…"

"What is it, Emily?" Paige asked softly. The only time she had seen Emily so visibly upset was when she was talking about how her father had to leave for duty last year. Other than that, Emily was always in a good mood. She watched as the object of her affections crossed her arms and looked like she had been hurt in some way.

"You can't just act that way. It's not fair to…me," Emily professed, trailing off. Paige was confused.

"Act like what? Emily, you're not making any sense," Paige said and as she made a move towards her, Emily held her hand up.

"Please don't. I just thought that maybe you felt…the same way that I did. I-I thought that maybe we…"

"Emily, I don't understand," Paige pleaded. Emily was going to leave then, but her sadness gave way to anger and jealousy, when she remembered why she sought Paige out in the first place.

"Are you going out with…someone?" Emily asked, deciding at the last minute to not name any names.

"What?" Paige asked, confused at the change in Emily's mood and tone.

"Are you _dating_ someone?" Emily asked again, looking at Paige without blinking.

"Of course not! Why would you think that?" Paige said, a little unnerved at the way Emily was looking at her.

"Are you sure?" Emily demanded.

"Yes! I think I would know if I was going out with someone!" Paige retorted. The fact that Emily was asking her that made her think of what Pru had told her the other night, about Emily being seen with the Head Girl. Paige couldn't even be bothered to remember her name. Crossing her arms, Paige bit her lip thinking about what they might have been doing going into the Prefect's bathroom together. Of course this only served to make Emily more suspicious.

"Are you lying to me?" Emily asked. Paige hadn't been looking at her, but her eyes snapped onto Emily's when she asked that last question.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" Paige yelled, unable to contain herself. "Feeling guilty about something, Fields? Is that why you're accusing me of something I didn't do?" Each girl, at some point, had drawn their wands and while neither of them would think about pointing their wand at the other, both girls were gripping their wands tightly. The water around Paige began to get choppy, waves lapping against her but she hardly noticed. Emily's wand, meanwhile, had begun to emit sparks.

"What are you even talking about?" Emily asked.

"Are you seeing anyone? Cozying up to one of your superiors?" Paige shouted, regretting what she said as soon as she saw the shock and hurt on Emily's face.

"How dare you!" Emily shrieked. Without warning, Emily pointed her wand at Paige, who was knocked backwards into the water. The lake had become calm almost immediately after Paige had made her accusation, as she had started walking towards Emily to apologize. Jumping up quickly, Paige looked around wildly for Emily, but she had already left.

* * *

Emily never felt so horrible in her entire life.

The day after her altercation with Paige, Emily skipped all her classes and just lay in her bed. She felt physically ill—especially when she replayed yesterday afternoon in her head. She went there to talk to Paige about what she had seen at breakfast—Pru grabbing her and looking at her like…(Emily didn't want to think of it) a _girlfriend_ would—and instead she accused Paige of going out with someone behind her back, and lying to her, which was ridiculous considering that her and Paige were in fact _friends_ and nothing more. That was the other thing she had intended to talk to Paige about, that she really liked her as more than friends, and that lately she found herself wanting to kiss her when they were alone together. She was going to bring up the times she had seen Paige looking at her like she wanted to do the same, but then Emily started shouting which meant Paige started shouting and what was Paige talking about, cozying up to her superiors? Emily sighed. No matter how mad and hurt she was, she shouldn't have attacked Paige like that. She had hit her with a blast of wind, a hard blast of wind, that knocked her backwards, giving Emily time to run off so that Paige wouldn't see her crying.

Emily rolled over onto her stomach. She was lucky she never missed classes, but she would probably have to stop by Madame Pomfrey's just in case. It didn't look good for a Prefect to miss an entire day of class without reason.

_Tap, tap._

Emily sat up, yanking the curtains of her bed back. Sure enough, outside of her window was an eagle-owl and Emily knew immediately who it belonged to, having seen that owl almost every day of her summer break, tapping on the stained-glass with its beak. Pointing her wand at the window, it opened and the owl hopped in. Flying over to Emily, it stuck its leg out so that she could untie the scroll that had been affixed to it. Patting the bird, and receiving an appreciative "hoo" in return, the owl left and Emily spread out the tightly bounded note.

_I'm sorry._

Emily cried.

* * *

Paige was miserable.

_After she had regained her composure from being dunked in the lake, she practically launched herself out of the water and onto the shore. Running all the way to the Slytherin common room, then hurtling down the stairs to the 5__th__ year girls' dormitory, Paige nearly tackled Pru when she saw her, throwing herself in her bed and drawing the curtains._

"_Paige...what the hell…?" Pru started, before Paige shushed her by clapping her hand to her mouth._

"_That stuff you were saying, about Emily and the Head Girl, was that true?" Paige asked in a hurry. Wide-eyed, and somewhat confused, Pru shook her head from side to side._

_Of course…Paige thought. "Merlin…I'm such an idiot," she sighed, letting the hand that was over Pru's mouth fall down._

"_What did you do this time?"_

Paige had gone to all of her classes, but she noticed Emily's absence throughout the day. No Emily at breakfast. No Emily at lunch. No Emily in Herbology, which Slytherin had with Hufflepuff this year. And no Emily at dinner.

"Can't you just meet her somewhere? Seriously, all this moping you're doing is starting to get me down," Pru snapped. She had spent the last half an hour bewitching objects to hit Paige, who had been sitting on the couch and staring at the fireplace.

"I sent her an apology…" Paige sighed.

"And? Go over there and confess your undying love or whatever. Nothing ever got done by waiting for a Hufflepuff to make a move," Pru mumbled, pointing her wand at a pillow.

"Shut up. I'm gonna go to the cove to think," Paige said, standing up. She walked over to the door of the common room.

"Wait!" Pru cried out, causing Paige to stop and turn around. The pillow Pru had bewitched smacked her full in the face. "Ok, you can go now."

* * *

Paige had finished checking on the animals and was splayed out on the sand, arms crossed under her head as she looked up at the sky. It was still light out, but the blue had started fading into pinks and oranges and Paige took that as her cue to start heading back inside the castle. She stood up and dusted herself off, not noticing that Emily had suddenly appeared in the same spot that she had the first time she and Paige had officially met. She stayed there for a bit, watching Paige as she pulled her cloak back on and, as if suddenly picking up on Emily's presence, Paige turned towards her. They both stood there, watching each other before Emily walked forward.

Neither girl said anything as Emily walked towards Paige; Paige's breathing hitched as she watched Emily, the time they spent apart seemed to have magnified how beautiful Emily was. Was her hair always that long? Did it always frame her face perfectly like that? Were Emily's eyes always that gorgeous? Emily stopped a few feet in front of her, taking a few moments to watch Paige now that she could fully appreciate her up close. She missed seeing her and she remembered the last time she had stood in front of her—both girls red in the face as they yelled at each other.

"I'm sorry," Paige said quickly, taking Emily's silence as an indication of how angry she still was at her. Paige hoped that if she apologized, everything would be ok again.

"It's not your fault," Emily said after a moment. If anything, Emily had started the whole thing. If only she had been honest from the start.

"I shouldn't have said that," Paige insisted, "I went too far and I'm sorry."

"Paige, please listen," Emily instructed. Paige watched her carefully. "I came here to tell you that we can't be friends anymore." Emily watched as Paige's face hardened. _Just walk away_, Emily thought. _Just end it here. _

"I think I deserve an explanation," Paige said stiffly, as she crossed her arms. Her eyes never left Emily's however and Emily was finding it difficult to look away, even though she desperately wanted to. Paige's demeanor had gone from apologetic and yielding to cold and demanding.

"I…" Emily began, finally breaking eye contact with Paige.

"Don't look away," Paige said, softly, and she reached for Emily, her hands gently grasping Emily's chin as she tilted her face back up to look at her. Paige couldn't stand Emily being upset, especially if it was her own fault, but she really needed to know why. She had intended to keep herself closed off, but she couldn't when Emily was obviously hurting. Emily's eyes glistened with tears as she looked at Paige, who was giving her that look; the look that made Emily think she wanted to be more than friends. Closing her eyes, Emily inhaled deeply to steady herself. As she did, the tears that had gathered in her eyes fell and Paige's thumb brushed across her cheeks to wipe them away.

"I can't be friends with you anymore, Paige. Not when you act like this with me," Emily intimated, grasping the hand that was on her face and moving it away. Instead of letting her hand go, Paige grasped it and held it. "I saw you acting the same way with that girl…friend of yours and it made me upset. That's why I came here the other day," Emily whispered, looking at the ground. Paige's heart skipped a beat. _Does that mean_…?

"You wanted to know if I was going out with Pru," Paige stated slowly as she thought of Emily's strange line of questioning that day they fought.

"Yes," Emily said. She looked at their hands, watching and feeling Paige move her thumb back and forth softly over Emily's own knuckles. When she looked up, she was surprised to see Paige looking at her intently. Paige's eyes were moving back and forth from Emily's eyes to her lips making Emily unconsciously lick her lips.

"We're not going out," Paige replied, pulling Emily closer. Emily's heart lurched and she felt butterflies erupt in her stomach. Paige didn't break their eye contact and the intensity of her gaze made Emily blush.

"Is—is that so?" Emily murmured, licking her lips again. She bit her bottom lip as she watched Paige mimic her actions.

"Yeah," Paige answered. "Is that what you wanted to hear?" Emily nodded. "Does this mean we can be friends, still?" Emily shook her head.

"If we're friends, that means I can't kiss you," Emily said hesitantly, watching as Paige's pupils dilated. Paige placed her hands on Emily's hips, pulling her closer. Emily wrapped her arms around Paige's neck as she felt Paige tighten her grip.

"I promise I won't tell," Paige breathed as Emily moved closer. But Emily shook her head again, making Paige growl softly.

"That's not good enough," Emily said quietly. "How do I know-?" But before she could finish, Paige kissed her. The kiss only lasted for a few seconds, each girl pressing their lips tightly against the others. When they parted, Emily was smiling.

"You were saying?" Paige smirked.

"How do I know you don't act this way with all of your friends?" Emily asked. She was only half-joking, as she didn't want to consider whether or not Paige had kissed that other girl.

"Trust me, they're not my type," Paige assured her. She really wanted to kiss Emily again, but she sensed that the girl still needed some reassuring.

"And what exactly is your type?" Emily asked, loosening her grip slightly.

"You," Paige said simply, leaning in to kiss Emily again, who met her halfway.


	4. Sixth Year, part I

**Greetings! I've decided to split the girls' 6th year into two chapters. Might take me a little bit to get the next chapter out, but I will do my best to have it out as quickly as possible. I also managed to (finally) get a tumblr, which I have taken to posting excerpts of whatever new chapter I'm working on. I also had someone make a comment in the discrepancies of the school year and what age Paige was turning and even though I understand that I messed up, I already worked it into the story and I will just have to suffer the shame of messing up HP canon lol. Thank for the reviews and feedback and I hope you all enjoy! -ASE**

* * *

**On the Sly**

**Chapter 4**

"Aren't you super excited about being sixth years?!"

Paige had just closed the sliding door to the compartment she was sharing with her best friend, Pru. Of course she stalled as much as she could, looking up and down the corridors before Pru practically dragged her in.

"Could you at least pretend that you're happy to see me?" Pru huffed, disappointed in Paige's lack of interest. Really, just because she was finally going out with that Hufflepuff didn't mean Paige could slack on best friend duty.

"I am happy to see you," Paige asserted, as she continued to throw fleeting glances at the glass doors. Pru rolled her eyes.

"Oh obviously. I swear to Merlin, Paige, I'm going to sit on top of you if you don't stop fidgeting," Pru grumbled, causing Paige to finally look at her best friend.

"I'm sorry, Pru," Paige said, realizing that she was being kind of rude. "I was just hoping to catch a glimpse of Emily…"

"Yeah, I know, I know. Just give her a moment, she'll be patrolling the corridors like all the other prefects," Pru drawled, looking at her nails. "You two aren't tired of sucking face yet?"

"We don't suck face," Paige replied, blushing slightly. Pru tutted. "What? We've just been hanging out, s'all." Of course Paige wasn't exactly telling the truth…since her and Emily's first kiss last year, the two girls had spent as much time as they could together, hanging out with the added bonus of occasional kissing. They'd spend all day at the cove, or meet up in empty classrooms…Ok, maybe they did kiss a lot.

"Yeah, sure. Your lips were chapped all last year and considering that I've caught a glimpse or two of what's going on in that head of yours during practices, I know you two aren't just 'hanging out,'" Pru scoffed. Paige blushed again, unconsciously wiping her mouth with her hand.

At that moment, Emily walked past. Pru watched as Paige sat up a little straighter and pushed her hair behind her ears. She looked at the Hufflepuff, who looked like she was trying to keep herself from smiling too widely as her eyes locked onto Paige. The moment lasted only a few seconds, as the Hastings girl caught up to her. Suddenly Paige looked bored as she rested her head against the window, watching the sky as the train chugged along. Pru watched as the Hastings girl talked with the Hufflepuff, smiling sweetly at the both of them when they looked back in the compartment. The Hastings girl rolled her eyes and walked ahead, while the Hufflepuff held her gaze for a moment. Pru raised an eyebrow at her (as if to say "well?") and smirked when the Hufflepuff's left eye twitched slightly. She looked at Paige one last time before following the Hastings girl.

"Did they leave?" Paige asked, still looking out the window.

"Yeah. You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that Hufflepuff girl was part veela, the way you act around her. And that's with the door _closed_," Pru stated, as she switched seats to sit beside Paige.

"Whatever," Paige snapped. "Em isn't part veela."

"Oh 'Em' is it?" Pru questioned, eyebrows raised. "Guess it's getting serious, huh?"

* * *

"Sure did take forever! Catch any mischievous students running around the train?"

Emily and Spencer opened the compartment that their friends were currently occupying—Spencer sat down heavily beside Aria while Emily sat down beside Hanna who was lying down on the other seat (and who promptly lifted her legs and laid them across her lap).

"What happened, Spence?" Aria asked.

"It was nothing. Just had to herd some wandering first years into some empty compartments. Were we ever that rowdy our first year?" Spencer asked the group.

"I know I was. Practically bouncing off the walls after the first round of the candy trolley, innit?" Hanna remarked, looking at Emily. Emily smiled.

"Yeah, you know Han and those chocolate frogs," Emily agreed. She was glad that she had caught a glimpse of Paige before they made it to Hogwarts. The girls had only been able to see each other a few times over the summer and they made sure to write to each other constantly. They had plans to meet up at the end of the first week, to figure out when they could schedule some time together.

"Em? Emily!" Hanna said, using her foot to shake Emily.

"Yes? I'm sorry, what's going on?" Emily asked, focusing on her friends.

"I was saying, now that you've decided you like girls, maybe we can fix you up with someone?" Hanna repeated.

"I didn't just decide I like girls, I always knew that I did. I just finally felt comfortable enough to tell all of you," Emily clarified. That was the other thing. Emily had finally come out to her friends, who greeted her confession with enthusiasm. The girls knew that something was going on with her and so she offered one secret up to them to placate their curiosity.

"Yes, that's what I was saying!" Hanna insisted. "So what's your type? Are you into the brainy girls? The weird artsy ones, or do you like spontaneous and fun?"

"Did…did you just describe us?" Aria asked uncertainly. "How am I weird?"

"Well she's hanging out with us for a reason, right? I'm just trying to figure out a place to start!" Hanna reasoned, slightly exasperated. She ignored the weird part.

"Hey, I'm not just 'the brainy girl'!" Spencer cried out, indignant. "I'll have you know I can be spontaneous."

"Oh sure," Hanna remarked sarcastically. "Coming from the girl whose life is scheduled down to the second. Tell me again, at what time did you put yourself down for 'spontaneity?'"

Spencer blushed. "It's not 'til the weekend," she muttered.

"That's what I thought," Hanna quipped, looking at her best friend. "Now back to Emily."

"No offense, I love you guys a lot, but you all aren't really my type," Emily disclosed, looking around the compartment.

"I'm ok with that," Aria smiled.

"How am I not your type? We complement each other perfectly!" Hanna and Spencer both yelled at the same time.

"Yes, we do," Emily assured them, placing one of her hands on Hanna's knee and looking sympathetically at Spencer, "As friends. As for my type…I don't think that I really have one." _Not true_, she thought. She definitely had a type. And that type was 5'6" with reddish brown hair (currently pulled back in a loose ponytail), with dark brown eyes that caused her stomach to flip in ways that made her feel giddy and leave her breathless. Best part is that all of that was sitting just a few compartments down and if she wanted to she could be there right now…

"Earth to Emily! Where the hell did you just go?" Spencer said, waving her hand in front of the other girl's face. Blinking rapidly, Emily was startled to find that her friends were all looking at her.

"Umm, is it hot in here to you guys? Maybe I should just take a walk right quick," Emily babbled, loosening the collar of her uniform.

"Hey if you're going out, mind checking on the first years again? I know that the Slytherin prefects won't be doing much to help and the Gryffindors should be up in the front carts," Spencer explained. Emily nodded.

"And give that trolley lady a push in this direction, will you? I'm hungry!" Hanna grumbled, right as she closed the door. "So who are we setting up Emily with? I know this girl…"

"It didn't seem like Em was too into the idea," Aria pointed out.

"They could at least talk to each other," Hanna continued, undeterred. "Besides, it's not like Emily said she was with anyone right now."

* * *

Emily walked back over to the compartment she had seen Paige and her friend in. She supposed she should call her by her name…Pru. Not that she had anything against the girl, but she and the other girl seemed to be locked in a silent challenge of sorts over Paige. Paige had assured and reassured Emily that Pru was just a friend—her only real friend—and Emily understood, she really did. She just couldn't stand to see Pru all over Paige in public when it was something she wasn't quite allowed to do. Emily knew that Pru knew about them.

As Emily reached the compartment, she was delighted to see there was only one person currently occupying the area—however she was quickly disappointed to see that it wasn't Paige. Looking down the corridors, Emily tapped on the glass before letting herself in. Closing the door quickly, she looked at Paige's best friend who was watching her with an amused expression on her face.

"I'm sorry but this compartment is full," Pru announced, crossing her arms. She was still somewhat bothered by the fact that Paige's girl was just _so_ _pretty_.

"Really? I couldn't tell," Emily said, looking pointedly around the empty space. She didn't bother to sit down. "Where is Paige?" _Best to get to the point quickly_, she thought.

"Oh, right, _Paige_…and here I thought you came in to have a nice chat with me," Pru remarked, sounding offended. Emily didn't say anything. "Well you just missed her, Hufflepuff. She ran off to the restroom. Maybe if you hurry up, you'll catch her. Bye now," Pru said as she crossed her arms and looked out the window, dismissing Emily entirely.

Emily smiled, uttered a small "thanks" and left the compartment quickly. Pru sighed. Paige definitely owed her for this one.

Paige had just opened the door when she was quickly shoved back in, in a flurry of brown and black with just a hint of yellow. She heard the door close, the lock snap, and the hand that had been clasped over her mouth was quickly replaced by soft lips. Paige sighed, the familiar smell and taste of Emily overriding her senses. Aware that they were in something of a cramped space, Paige pushed Emily back against the door, softly, and stopped kissing her so that she could look at her. Emily smiled at Paige, happy to be in her arms again as her own hands were wrapped around the other girl's neck.

"Didn't think I'd see you for a while," Paige whispered, giving Emily another kiss.

"I couldn't wait. Sorry that I jumped you," Emily whispered back. "And in a bathroom of all places." Paige chuckled. "I stopped by your compartment and Pru said you'd be in here."

"Pru? You talked to Pru?" Paige asked and Emily nodded. "And Pru talked _back_?"

"She did," Emily breathed, "but I don't want to talk about Pru right now." Paige complied, licking her lips before Emily leaned forward to kiss her again. Paige gripped the other girl's hips tightly, before sneaking her arms in Emily's robes to wrap her arms around her waist.

* * *

"How lucky is it that our scheduled free time coincides with each other?" Emily remarked as she and Paige laid on the sandy shore of the cove. They were cuddled up against each other, Emily resting her head against Paige's chest as Paige held her with one arm, while her other arm was positioned underneath her own head. Paige was currently stroking Emily's bare arm as she listened to her speak.

"Pretty lucky, I guess," Paige half-agreed.

"Well don't sound too enthusiastic," Emily murmured.

"No, it's not that. Of course I'm happy that I'll get to spend some uninterrupted time with you…it's just that those free periods are designated for studying. I'm gonna have to fill up that time with some extra work," Paige explained. "And I know you're gonna have to, too."

Emily sighed. She knew that she was going to have to study hard this year, but she had been happy at the possibility of being able to see Paige a little more frequently.

"Hey," Paige said, squeezing Emily's arm gently, "I didn't mean to ruin your good mood. We'll work it out." Emily smiled, glad that Paige had picked up on what she was thinking. Her arm had been resting on Paige's stomach and she started to slowly trace patterns on the material covering the girl's flat belly. They had taken their robes off and were in t-shirts and shorts to enjoy the weather.

"So what other work are you going to have to do?" Emily asked as she continued her ministrations. Paige's breathing had picked up somewhat, as her mind focused on the trails that Emily's fingers were making on her stomach. It felt like electric jolts were making its way down her body, settling in an area that was causing Paige to squirm slightly. Not that she was uncomfortable, but it was definitely a new feeling she was unused to. Little did Paige realize, however, that Emily (who had been waiting patiently for Paige to answer her) was watching her reactions. Biting her lip, Emily decided to slip her fingers underneath Paige's shirt so that she could feel Paige's skin beneath her fingertips. The moment her fingers made contact with Paige's bare skin, both girls inhaled sharply. Emily felt goosebumps rise on the other girl's skin and Paige shuddered. Emboldened by Paige's reaction, Emily traced her fingertips lightly up and down the length of Paige's stomach, stopping to tease the girl at the top of her shorts and traveling up far enough that she teased the material that was the bottom of the girl's bra. Paige suddenly grabbed her hand, causing Emily to flush with embarrassment as she figured she had crossed the line. But Paige pulled Emily on top of her so that she rested in between the girl's legs; Emily's hands were on either side of Paige's head holding herself up as she felt Paige gripping her hips. Neither girl moved, though both of them were breathing quickly, opened mouth, and staring intently into each other's eyes. Emily's stomach clenched at the sight of Paige's pupils dilating and she wasn't sure what she should do. After spending practically all of last year stealing kisses whenever they could—with the occasional make-out session whenever possible—both girls had agreed to keep things slow, as they tested out the boundaries of whatever this new relationship was that they had begun. They had never found themselves in this position (literally), and as much as Emily wanted to continue, she also knew they needed to stop and collect themselves.

"Paige," Emily breathed, trying not to be affected by the way the other girl was looking at her, "Paige, we should slow down." Paige nodded slightly, as if she understood, but still neither girl moved. Emily lowered herself so that she rested on her elbows instead of her hands and she felt Paige squeeze her hips slightly as she did. Emily didn't want to think about how Paige's thumbs slipped under her shirt to lightly caress her skin, but it was kind of hard to ignore. Deciding that she would have to be the buzzkill (again literally, because her body was positively thrumming with new sensations), Emily moved back so that she was lying on her left side, turning Paige with her. Seemingly coming to her senses, Paige let go of Emily to caress her face and she planted a light kiss on her lips.

"I'm sorry, I think you broke me," Paige uttered quietly, making Emily chuckle.

"That's good to know," Emily teased, biting her bottom lip as her hand rested on Paige's cheek. Paige smiled and ducked her head.

* * *

"So it doesn't bother you that she's like a year older?" Pru asked, as she laid beside Paige in her bed. They were currently sharing the same duvet, although Pru had grabbed her own pillow. Paige had long since given up on trying to kick Pru out when she decided to sleep in her bed.

"She's not a year older, just a few months or so," Paige corrected. Emily had actually turned 16 earlier that year, towards the end of their fifth year. Paige was still 15 and her birthday wasn't until October.

"Ok, so like half a year older. That girl is robbing the cradle," Pru stated matter-of-factly. Paige rolled her eyes. "When are you two gonna meet up again?"

"Not too sure. Looks like it won't be 'til next weekend or so. I have to schedule my independent study for Mermish, then there's Legilimens with you, and I need to study for my N.E.W.T.S. Well, we need to study," Paige amended, giving her friend a small push.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm lucky Snape accepted me for potions this year, I was a few points shy of 'Outstanding' on my Potions O.W.L. He said I better make sure I get some tutoring. I'm not gonna lie, he actually smiled a little when I told him I had you to help me," Pru divulged.

"Really?" Paige said brightly.

"Well maybe it was more of a grimace. Anyway, he said that as long as I show improvement I should be fine. Too bad we have to take it with Ravenclaw this year, huh? I'm telling you, if I have to suffer through that Hastings girl shouting out all the answers, I'm gonna curse her," Pru declared. Paige chuckled.

"No you won't. She's a prefect. Although if she was a Gryffindor, you'd probably have a better chance of getting away with it in Potions class," Paige thought out loud. Pru made a noise of agreement.

"I'll just take it out on her on the pitch. I don't have to worry about making a good impression on any of her friends," Pru said pointedly. "Besides, she can't take points away in the match."

"True," Paige yawned. "Well I'm gonna get some sleep."

"Guess we'd better," Pru agreed, yawning and stretching. She turned towards Paige and cuddled up beside her. "Better enjoy sleeping with you while I can."

"Shut up and go to sleep," Paige muttered.

* * *

"Lucas!" Emily hissed. She knew he could hear him—even though he was turned away from her, he hunched his shoulders and she saw his ears go red. Reluctantly, he turned around.

"I was just gonna see…if there were any other open spots…"

"This one is fine, they won't bite," Emily instructed, pointing at two empty seats next to a couple of Slytherins. Lucas looked at the Slytherin girls who were seated next to the open spots Emily had gestured to—one of them, who had reddish-brown hair, seemed completely uninterested in them as she flipped through her Charms book, while the other girl watched him. She smiled sweetly at him, then she opened her mouth and clamped her teeth together loudly. Wide-eyed, Lucas nearly bolted when Emily grabbed him by the arm.

"Here, look, you can take the outside," Emily said as she sat down. Lucas gulped, nodded, then sat down.

"She's right, you know, we won't bite. Well Paige might," the other girl mused as Emily and Lucas sat down. "But since you're both prefects, we'll be on our best behavior." Still, the reddish-brown haired girl ignored them.

"Shut up, Pru," Paige finally said. The classroom size had gotten just a bit smaller post-O.W.L.s, with some students opting out of Charms either due to not making the cut or because of their preferred career plans. Usually, Emily sat in the front with her guy friend (who was apparently named Lucas) and other Hufflepuffs but they had gotten to class a little later than usual. Paige was glad that there were empty seats beside her, until she remembered that she and Emily were still a secret. Still, she felt that she could relax somewhat with Emily beside her. At least she could talk with her out in public, even if it was only school related.

"Wands out! You've had the whole first week to practice your nonverbal spell casting," squeaked Professor Flitwick. "Break into groups of fours; you all will need to take turns making these matchboxes move." Flicking his wand, Professor Flitwick distributed the boxes amongst the students and walked to the front row to observe.

"How are we supposed to move these?" Pru asked, picking her box up and looking at it.

"I don't know, magic?" Lucas responded, before slapping a hand to his mouth. Emily giggled and Paige smirked.

"I meant what kind of spell, Badger boy," Pru snapped.

"Since Professor Flitwick didn't specify, I imagine it's up to us," Emily reasoned, looking around the room at the other students. All of them seemed to be discussing similar strategies and she caught a few students peeking under their desks at opened books.

"Shouldn't be too hard, right?" Paige stated, flicking her wand at her box and making it disappear.

"Stop showing off, McCullers!" Pru joked, elbowing her friend playfully. Paige smirked and made her box reappear. Beside her, Emily pointed her wand at her own box and made it hop around the table.

"You can do nonverbal casting?" Lucas said, impressed. "I mean, I've been practicing too, but you've really got the hang of it."

"Yeah, I figured it out last year," Emily admitted. She found it easier to tweak certain spells when she didn't have to keep shouting out incantations all the time—especially when she was trying to keep her work a secret.

"That's so funny, Paige here learned nonverbal casting last year too!" Pru mentioned. "Have you two been practicing together or something?" Paige glared at her friend, who was smiling at Emily brightly.

"Yeah, right," Lucas laughed. "Here, let me try." He pointed his wand at his box, brows furrowed as he stared intently at it.

"Not too much," Emily chided. "Don't overthink it." Lucas gripped his wand tightly, but still nothing.

"You should try," Paige said to Pru. Pointing her wand at her own box, Pru took a steady breath. After a few seconds, the matchbox twitched slightly and Pru threw her hands in the air.

"Woo hoo! Did you see that?" Pru cried out, grabbing Paige's arm excitedly. Paige shook her head at her friend's antics, smiling. Lucas looked sullen, but he still kept practicing.

"Good job, Pru," Emily said earnestly. Pru just nodded.

"Lucas," Paige said, trying not to laugh when the boy snapped his head towards her. "When I was learning, it helped when I thought about the specific spell I wanted to use, what the spell would do to the object, silently thinking the incantation, then I would perform the spell. Just figure out what works best for you." Emily ducked her head, smiling at Paige's attempt to help Lucas. She stole a quick glance before turning her attention back to him.

"Ok," he mumbled, looking from Paige to Emily. All three girls watched as he took a deep breath and looked at the matchbox. He took a few moments before he pointed his wand at the box and when he did, the box hopped once before becoming still again. Lucas smiled at Paige who nodded back at him.

"Ok, ok, now it's my turn again," Pru said loudly, turning Lucas's attention back to her when she spotted Emily squeezing Paige's hand under the table.

* * *

"Emily! Ok, be honest, would you date me?"

Emily sat down with her friends at their usual table, quirking her eyebrows at Hanna's question.

"I thought I already explained that you weren't my type," Emily repeated amusedly. Across from her, Aria chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah, I know that's a lost cause. I mean, am I datable?" Hanna asked.

"Of course you are," Emily smiled.

"Yeah, you're alive right?" Spencer added and Hanna scowled at her. "I meant that as a compliment. Are you trying to ask someone out?"

"Yes I am and speaking of dating, Emily Fields, I found the perfect girl for you to date!" Hanna proclaimed suddenly.

"Somehow I doubt that," Emily said without thinking. The girls looked at her with confused expressions.

"Why do you say that?" Hanna asked.

"I just meant…well, I thought I told you I wasn't interested in dating," Emily stressed changing the subject as she busied herself with making a sandwich.

"You said you didn't think you had a type," Hanna reminded her.

"Leave it to Hanna to accept that as some kind of challenge," Spencer stated. Hanna stuck her tongue out at her. "Quick! Look over at the Slytherin table, _but not that quickly_!" Spencer hissed, too late as both Hanna and Emily whipped their heads to look at the other side of the hall. "There, do you see that girl? She's that prefect I've been telling you about." Emily spotted the girl with the green-and-silver prefect's badge, with dark skin and dark brown shoulder length hair. She was sitting on the other side of Pru, although she seemed to be deeply engrossed in a conversation with Paige.

"She's new and she's always challenging me," Spencer explained. Emily turned back around to her friends. "I think she wants to be on the Quidditch team, which is why she's cozying up to McCullers."

"Cozying up? Does that mean…" Aria began.

"No," Emily said quickly. The girls looked at her. "I mean…what do you mean?" she asked Aria to clarify.

"It's probably nothing, but I heard that Paige and that girl, Pru, are always sleeping in the same bed together," Aria shrugged. "I overheard some of the Slytherin girls talking about it in Divination."

"That doesn't mean they're together," Emily remarked. Of course, she already knew about that. She teased Paige about her and Pru's "sleepovers."

"Yeah, sometimes I sleep in your bed," Hanna pointed out, taking a sip of her juice. Aria nodded.

"You guys share a bed?" Spencer pouted, looking at Aria. Aria rolled her eyes.

"Sometimes," Aria admitted, "we'll talk and stuff and we'll fall asleep. But we don't close the curtains. I heard that they do."

"Whatever, it's their business, not ours," Emily stated, wanting to get off the subject.

"Man, Shana is laying it on thick, isn't she? If Pru wasn't sitting in the middle, she'd be all over McCullers," Spencer commented, still watching the Slytherin table. Emily fought the urge to look.

"Well Paige isn't bad looking, for a Slytherin," Hanna remarked, surprising Emily. "I mean, have you seen her in her Quidditch uniform? Whoo!"

"Yeah, I suppose," Aria said, looking over at Paige at again. "If you're into that kind of thing."

"You think McCullers looks good in her uniform?" Spencer sputtered. Aria just shook her head at her.

"I think you look nice in your uniform too," Aria said reassuringly.

"Just nice?" Spencer muttered. Aria ignored her.

"Guys can we please stop talking about this?" Emily asked loudly. Personally she thought Paige looked amazing in her Quidditch uniform. But she didn't want to think about Paige and Shana talking and really needed the subject to be changed.

"Why Em, not your type?" Hanna asked curiously as she fished in her bag for a notebook. "I will add that to my notes!"

Emily didn't say anything.

* * *

"So how did Quidditch trials go?"

Emily and Paige had decided to meet up in an empty classroom for their free period. At least, it appeared to be an empty classroom although the girls had trouble finding it consistently. It seemed to only pop up when they really needed it. They were both currently sitting on a sofa that was opposite on the side of the room. They never worried about being bothered when they were in this particular room.

"It went really good actually," Paige answered, looking up at Emily. She was resting her head in Emily's lap as Emily ran her fingers through her hair. "I think we're gonna have a good team this year. Definitely an improvement from last year."

"What spots did you have to fill?" Emily asked. She loved hearing Paige talk about Quidditch, because it was something she really enjoyed much like when she talked about Care of Magical Creatures.

"We have two chaser positions and one beater position. The beater position was filled in no time—you have to make sure the two beaters get along with each other and share the same mind set. The chasers, that was a little more difficult."

"Why is that?" Emily asked.

"Well they all three have to be cohesive unit. I mean, you can be a really good flier with a good handle on the Quaffle, but if you can't work with your other chasers then there's no room for you in Quidditch," Paige explained. "I had Pru run trials with them and I think we ended up with some pretty good fits. There's this one girl, Shana, and wow, she's something else."

"How so?" Emily asked carefully.

"That girl can really fly. But she doesn't showboat," Paige described, getting a far off look in her eyes. Emily was not pleased.

"That's nice," Emily mumbled.

"It definitely is. We're totally taking the cup this year," Paige affirmed. "How have you been? I know we haven't talked in a while." Paige and Emily hadn't been able to get away for some alone time for at least a few weeks. The girls didn't share any other classes besides Charms, which was the only time the two girls could actually see and converse with each other in public. Emily and Lucas had started to sit with Paige and Pru regularly and they all actually got along pretty well. Besides that, the girls had only been able to meet up at the cove for a few times, and for only minutes at a time.

"I've missed you," Emily said quietly, looking at Paige.

"I've missed you too. More," Paige smirked. Emily shook her head in disagreement and leaned forward to kiss Paige. Paige slipped her left hand into Emily's hair, keeping her close so she could kiss her back. They stayed like that for a while until both girls finally parted, breathless. Paige was still holding Emily close so she couldn't pull too far away.

"Can I show you how much I've missed you, now?" Paige whispered. Emily nodded and Paige sat up. She pushed Emily lightly on her shoulders, so that Emily lay propped up on one of the sofa's pillows.

"Is this ok?" Paige asked, as she sat hovered over Emily. Emily nodded, wrapping her arms around Paige's back and neck to pull her so that she was half on top of her. Smiling, Paige leaned forward, kissing Emily again. They started off with light kisses at first, and then Emily parted her mouth slightly, running her tongue across Paige's bottom lip. Paige opened her mouth in surprise, eagerly allowing Emily's tongue into her mouth as she met her with her own. Emily emitted a small moan into Paige's mouth causing Paige to move closer. Emily ended up pulling Paige on top of her, her hands running up and down the other girl's sides as Paige slid both of her arms underneath Emily's head and neck to support her weight.

"So that much, huh?" Emily breathed when they parted. Paige didn't say anything, just looked into Emily's eyes.

"I'm not done showing you," Paige expressed, giving Emily a look that made her shiver. Emily inhaled sharply when Paige leaned in, kissing her just below her ear. She followed that up with kisses along Emily's jaw line—soft and light—and Emily hummed in appreciation. Her hands had stopped moving up and down Paige's body to rest on her waist lightly, until Paige placed an open mouthed kiss just over the pulse-point on her neck. Emily gasped, gripping Paige tightly as she began to suck on the spot she had just kissed.

"Paige," Emily whispered, her breath hitching, "Paige, no marks…" Paige grunted, acknowledging Emily, and instead of stopping moved to the same spot on the side of her neck. Emily felt a jolt, like an electric current, shoot from the point Paige had placed her mouth on her throat down her body to rest just below her stomach. It was so sudden, so overwhelming that without thinking Emily spread her legs and pushed down on Paige's back. Paige abandoned Emily's neck to kiss her lips, quickly complying with Emily's silent demand. Using her arms as leverage, Paige pushed her hips firmly into Emily's center making Emily bite down on Paige's bottom lip in surprise.

"Em…Em…Emily," Paige whispered against Emily's mouth. Emily released her lip, breathing hard. "Are you ok, Em?"

"Yes," Emily breathed. "You feel so good right now, Paige." Emily had her eyes closed as she spoke and Paige watched her, memorizing every nuance of Emily's emotions at this moment—the way her eyebrows were furrowed together, the way Emily was currently biting her bottom lip. Paige pushed her hips against Emily experimentally, wanting to see how the girl would react to it. Emily gasped, which quickly turned into a low moan and her eyes opened to look at Paige as she moved her legs up to squeeze her hips with her thighs. Paige let out a gasp of her own when she felt Emily pressing down on her.

"We should stop," Paige muttered, breathing heavily. Emily nodded, but she pulled Paige in to kiss her to which Paige responded eagerly.

"We should really stop," Paige reiterated, talking against Emily's lips. Again, Emily nodded but they didn't stop. Suddenly the bell signaling the end of the period rang, causing both girls to jump slightly.

"Maybe we _should_ stop," Emily suggested. Paige chuckled.

* * *

"You know your birthday is coming up, right? I mean, you're not too busy to remember that are you?" Pru reminded Paige as they grabbed ingredients to brew a Hiccoughing Solution potion.

"Is it really?" Paige said distractedly, grabbing enough sopophorous beans for the both of them.

"Yeah. Any plans?" Pru asked. Seeing that there were only a few beans left, Pru grabbed the rest of them.

"Not really. I was just gonna go to the cove after the Halloween Feast," Paige replied as they walked back to their table.

"With your lady love?" Pru asked. There weren't that many people in potions class; Snape's requirements for his N.E.W.T. level classes meant only the best of the best could continue to go to class. Still, a couple heads turned when Pru asked that specific question.

"No, actually. Haven't made any plans with her yet," Paige answered, not really bothered by the looks. Truthfully, the only person she had been worried about coming out to had been Pru and Paige was grateful that her friend had taken it all in stride. The fact that Pru continued to sleep with Paige every so often proved that her friend was actually more than ok with her friend's sexuality—it was something she was genuinely comfortable with. The only thing she really needed to be careful about was mentioning Emily's name as she was surrounded by Ravenclaws—meaning Spencer Hastings was never too far off.

"What a shame. I've heard birthday sex is the best," Pru remarked nonchalantly, dropping her supplies by her cauldron. "After make-up sex, of course."

Paige blushed deeply, especially when she heard a few sniggers from the surrounding tables. After glaring at them, Paige scowled at her best friend.

"Will you stop speaking!" Paige seethed. She turned the heat up under her cauldron and began prepping her ingredients.

"What? All I'm saying is that you should be getting some on your birthday," Pru explained, copying Paige's actions on her own cauldron.

"I'm just turning 16," Paige reminded her friend, her face reddening slightly. "We aren't, I mean…we're gonna wait…"

"Aww, that's so adorable!" Pru squealed, yanking Paige into a hug. "My little girl is all grown up…making her own decisions…"

"Pru…" Paige muttered, her voice somewhat muffled against Pru's shoulder, "let go of me."

"Ok, ok," Pru said, pushing Paige back over to her side, "Wait!" she suddenly cried out, causing Paige to miss the bean she was about to squeeze with her knife.

"What!" Paige hissed, slamming the knife on the table.

"Does this mean I'm the _only_ girl you've slept with?!" Pru cried out excitedly. Paige rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Pru," Paige responded, going back to her sopophorous beans.

"Ahem."

Both Paige and Pru looked up sharply.

"Sorry to break up this rather interesting conversation," Spencer Hastings stated, sounding not at all interested, "but I think you took the last of the sopophorous beans."

Paige went back to squeezing her beans with the flat side of her knife blade. Pru turned the temperature up on her cauldron.

"I know you heard me," Spencer hissed. "I need those beans!"

"All those smarts and you don't even know the magic word," Pru drawled, looking at Spencer as if she was disappointed. Spencer rolled her eyes.

"Please," she said through clenched teeth. Pru smiled brightly, throwing some of the beans at her. Spencer snatched them and turned around to leave.

"You know you're supposed to cut those, right?" Spencer recited over her shoulder, throwing Paige a haughty look. Paige just gave her a salute in acknowledgement. Spencer scowled.

* * *

"Paige, Paige, Paige! WAKE UP!"

Paige groaned. She rolled over and swatted blindly in the direction Pru's voice was coming from.

"Nope!"

Suddenly there was a dip in Paige's mattress and she felt Pru sit down on her butt.

"Happy birthday!" Pru shouted, bouncing up and down on Paige's butt. Paige tightened her grip on the pillow she had placed on top of her head. Pru yanked the pillow away from her and laid flat on her back.

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Paige-who-is-being-stubborn-and-won't-get-up-even- though-her-best-friend-has-presents-for-her! Happy birthday to you!" Pru sang in Paige's ear. Paige rolled over on top of Pru, laughing when Pru squawked in protest.

"Happy birthday, Paige," one of the other Slytherin girls said, placing a small package with the other parcels on Paige's bed.

"Thanks," Paige said giving the girl a smile. The other girls wished her a happy birthday before leaving for the Great Hall.

"Let's open presents!" Pru yelled excitedly, maneuvering out from under Paige and diving for the small pile of presents at the foot of her bed. Paige watched her with an amused expression on her face then opened the present she had just been given. It was a new pair of Keeper gloves.

"Here, look! Hagrid gave you some pumpkin bread!" Pru stated, biting into a small loaf. Paige swatted her away. "What? It's not like you're gonna eat all of it anyway!"

Paige looked through her small pile, seeing some boxes of sweets the others had given her. She picked up a long, thin package from her parents that lay across the foot of her bed.

"By the way, remind me to tell Kate thanks for the gloves," Paige remarked as she opened up the package from her parents.

"Why?" Pru retorted, opening what appeared to be a medium-sized box of Honeyduke's chocolates. "I told her to buy them for you."

"Nevertheless…" Paige started, looking down at her gift.

"Is that a-?" she head Pru say excitedly before Paige shushed her. She picked up the note that had fallen from the wrappings, read and re-read the words scrawled on it, before picking up the broomstick that lay in the box.

"A _Firebolt_?" Pru squealed, bouncing up and down beside Paige ecstatically. "Look! Ebony handle…and they got you the hazel twigs! _Can I touch it_?"

Aghast and slightly dumbfounded, Paige nodded as she ran her hands down the smooth ebony, her fingers stopping to trace the engraved "Firebolt" on the end.

"Bad _ass_, Paige! We are totally going to win the cup this year!" Pru cried out. Paige couldn't help but think she was right.

* * *

Emily looked and looked for Paige, but didn't see her in the Great Hall.

"Hey, Em, pass the coffee over here," Spencer directed, "Em?"

"My bad," Emily said distractedly, passing the coffee across the table.

"Spence, don't even bother pouring it, just drink it straight from the source," Hanna instructed as she ruffled through her notes.

"Look, if I'm going to help you out, I need my caffeine!" Spencer retorted.

"Don't use me as an excuse," Hanna muttered. Spencer narrowed her eyes.

"Ok, just calm down," Aria said, looking over her own notes. "Spence, did Professor Flitwick say we needed to have mastered nonverbal spellcasting yet?"

"I'm not sure…but he did hint that there may be a few spells we would have to perform nonverbally," Spencer recalled after pouring her coffee. "How are you doing in Charms, Em?"

Hanna scoffed. Emily, who was stealing glances at the entrance, looked at her friends.

"What?" she asked.

"Of course she's doing fine. She's already been doing nonverbal spells. Has she shown you what she's been working on?" Hanna asked the other two girls, who shook their heads. Hanna nodded at Emily, who waved her wand. Suddenly a ring of blue birds were twittering around the girls, having flown out of the tip of Emily's wand.

"Wow, Em, you're definitely going to get a N.E.W.T. in Charms," Aria said, impressed. Emily smiled, and waved her wand. The birds vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Yeah, as long as she doesn't get sabotaged," Spencer insinuated.

"What do you mean?" Emily asked.

"I heard you and Lucas got paired up with McCullers and her girlfriend," Spencer explained.

"Um who and who?" Emily asked, slightly confused.

"You know, McCullers and that girl Pru," Spencer reiterated. "They're going out, right?"

"I don't…who told you that?" Emily questioned further.

"Lucas told us that Flitwick paired you two with them. I bet they could use all the help they can get," Spencer declared, the others agreeing with her. "And I heard them talking in Potions class."

"They're not going out," Emily stated firmly. "And not all Slytherins are stupid. Weren't you just telling us about how Paige received 20 points for her Hiccoughing Solution?"

Spencer clenched her jaw, her eyebrows furrowing together.

"You know that Snape favors Slytherins…" Spencer protested weakly.

"Professor Snape has pretty high standards when it comes to advanced potions. There have been more than a few occasions that he's awarded you points for having the best potion," Emily reminded her. Spencer flushed. Aria and Hanna exchanged uncomfortable looks. Just then Lucas walked by.

"Lucas!" Hanna yelled loudly, making everyone jump including Lucas. "How _are_ you this morning?" She yanked Lucas down in an empty seat beside her.

"Um, fine, fine. How are you girls doing this morning?" Lucas asked, taking note of the somewhat tense atmosphere.

"Oh we're fine. Just some friendly chit-chat before class starts," Hanna indicated with a nervous laugh. "Are you going to sit with us tonight at the feast?"

"Speaking of the feast, where are you patrolling at?" Spencer interjected.

"Emily and I are taking the entrance to the castle, right?" Lucas answered, looking over to Emily for confirmation. Emily threw him a confused look.

"Really?" Spencer asked, puzzled. "I thought that…"

"Well, yeah, but I talked with the Head Girl and Boy and they didn't want any of the Slytherins ducking out like last year," Lucas replied quickly. Last year, a few Slytherin prefects decided to shirk their patrolling duties and just hang out in the courtyard.

"Are you ok, Lucas? You seem kind of fidgety," Hanna said, poking him in the arm. Lucas jumped a little.

"Oh I'm fine. Just have that Herbology test today, right Emily?" Lucas rambled. Emily nodded, agreeing with him. "We should probably start heading over there, the greenhouse we're in takes a bit to get over there." Emily grabbed her stuff. Sure it took a while to get to their designated greenhouse for the year, but it was still too early to leave. However, Emily took the opportunity to leave the table as she was sure she would just argue with Spencer more. Waving good-bye, both Hufflepuff prefects left the hall.

"When did we get switched?" Emily asked him as they headed towards the castle entrance.

"Just yesterday. I had a chat with the Head Boy, it didn't take much to convince him," Lucas replied. Emily nodded. She looked at the students who were still making their way to get some breakfast, hoping to see Paige, and it reminded her of the conversation she was just having with her friends.

"Hey, Lucas, did you tell the girls that Flitwick paired us up with Paige and Pru?" Emily asked.

"Maybe, why?" Lucas shrugged.

"Just that, you know he didn't. I practically forced you to sit with them," Emily pointed out. Lucas didn't say anything. "Why did you say it like that?"

"Someone made a comment that we all sit together in Charms and Hanna heard and so the girls were asking me about it and I thought maybe you would want me to keep your relationship with Paige a secret," Lucas said in a low voice. Emily grasped his arm, stopping both of them. Lucas looked a little guilty.

"You know?" Emily asked. Lucas nodded.

"I kind of figured it out," he revealed. "Plus, I like hanging out with them. They're funny. But I didn't think your friends would see it that way." Emily smiled, surprising Lucas with a hug.

* * *

"Dammit Pru, stop telling everyone I have a Firebolt!" Paige scolded, grabbing her friend by the arm and leading her towards the dungeon corridors. They were part of the first group of students to leave the Halloween feast.

"I'm not telling everyone, just our fellow Slytherins!" Pru said indignantly, rubbing her arm.

"Whatever, look, I want to keep it a secret for now, ok?" Paige confessed. Pru pouted. "I'm gonna head out, ok?" She saw that more people were leaving the hall, meaning there was more cover for her to slip out unnoticed.

"Here, I'll walk with you," Pru said. "By the way, did you see what I got you for your birthday?"

Paige thought about it, the excitement over the Firebolt kind of overriding all the other presents. "No, actually," Paige admitted. "What did you get me?"

"Guess you'll just have to wait and see!" Pru sing-songed, as she walked arm-in-arm with Paige towards the front of the castle.

"Fine, fine," Paige said. "I'll be back late, so if you want to sleep in my bed you're more than welcome to."

"Oh I know that," Pru laughed. They walked up to the entrance doors, the halls empty.

"Usually there's prefects here," Paige muttered, puzzled. Pru just shrugged. "Ok, I'll see you later." Pru pulled her into a hug.

"Happy Birthday, Paige," she whispered before pushing her out of the doors. Pru closed the doors behind her and walked over to the side, stopping to lean against the wall near the figure that stood in the shadows.

"When's she heading over?" Pru asked, crossing her arms.

"It won't be long," Lucas assured her. "She's making sure all the Hufflepuff first years make it to the dorms."

"Sweet!" Pru proclaimed, punching Lucas in the arm playfully in celebration of their plan playing out perfectly.

"Ow!" Lucas cried out, rubbing the spot furiously. "What was that for?"

"It was a celebratory punch! Toughen up, Badger Boy!" Pru grinned. "We make a pretty good team, you know?" Pru was still grinning at Lucas, who couldn't help but smile back.

* * *

Paige was swimming laps in the cove, when she heard someone approaching. Swimming quickly back to shore, she grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself. Her wand was lying on the sand, the tip illuminated in the darkness and she picked it up and pointed it in the direction she heard the footsteps.

"Emily?" Paige announced, shocked when she saw the girl's face lit up in the small beam of light that was being emitted from her own wand.

"Happy Birthday, Paige," Emily smiled, walking over to Paige and enveloping her in a tight hug after kissing her on the cheek.

"How?" Paige asked, still somewhat dazed. "How did you know I'd be here?"

Emily smiled, placing her hands on the girl's hips. "It turns out that both Pru and Lucas had this planned out. Lucas switched our patrolling duties to the castle entrance so that I could slip out here to meet you. Oh and, by the way, Pru told me to tell you that we both owe her and Lucas. And that she already knows how you will pay her back."

"I'm not too worried about that," Paige laughed, although she was somewhat surprised to hear that Lucas was involved. "Here, sit down with me." She took the towel off and pointed her wand at it, drying it off so that it wasn't so damp. Spreading the towel on the ground, she sat down on it with Emily following suit.

"So, I got you something," Emily said, pointing her wand at the ground in front of Paige's crossed legs. A few packages appeared.

"Em, you didn't have to get me anything," Paige stressed, but Emily stopped her.

"I wanted to. Besides, if I want to get my girlfriend something for her birthday, no one is going to stop me," Emily stated, making Paige duck her head. "Open them."

Paige grabbed a small box with a bow on it, opening it up to find a decent sized cupcake with about three inches of frosting. In the middle sat a candle.

"It's coconut, I know it's your favorite," Emily told her. "We can light the candle when you're done opening the others." Emily took the box with the cupcake so that Paige could open her other gifts. Paige grabbed a book that had a ribbon tied around it. The book was a little smaller than her other textbooks and about half as thick. She took the ribbon off and opened it, not entirely sure what to expect but expecting more than the blank pages the book seemed to be filled with.

"What kind of book is this?" Paige asked, flipping through the pages.

"I made it. For us," Emily explained, amused at the confused look on Paige's face. "I have the same book. Whatever you write in that one, will appear in the book I have and vice versa."

"Seriously, Em?" Paige said, impressed, "that's amazing!"

Emily smiled widely. "I've been working on it since the summer. The best part is, is that it looks like a regular notebook to other people and they can't see what you're writing. It's resistant to Revealers and Revealing charms and it doesn't matter what quill you write with. I found a way for us to communicate whenever we want to!" Paige grinned, grabbing Emily and pulling her close.

"I have the smartest girlfriend ever," Paige stated, kissing Emily on her forehead then on the lips. Emily responded enthusiastically, her fingers slipping through Paige's damp hair as she grabbed the back of her head. Emily pulled back, though, giving Paige one more quick kiss.

"You have one more present," Emily said, smirking at the pouty face Paige was currently giving her. She picked up the last package and handed it to her. Paige unwrapped her last gift, which turned out to be a scarf that was dark green with small golden stripes. There was a patch towards the bottom that had a golden talon insignia.

"You got me a Holyhead Harpies scarf!" Paige cried out. "Thank you so much!" Paige grabbed Emily in a bear hug, both girls falling down onto the sand on their backs. Emily lay half on top of Paige, who was still holding her, both girls laughing. Paige kissed the tip of Emily's nose. "You're amazing, you know that? I'm so lucky." Emily smiled shyly.

"We're lucky," she said softly, before sitting back up in Paige's lap. "You forgot to blow out your candle!" Emily said, grabbing her wand and pointing it at the box that held the gourmet cupcake. It flew to her outstretched hand and she lit the candle. Paige propped herself up on her elbows and Emily held the cupcake in front of her.

"Make a wish, birthday girl," Emily instructed. Paige smiled and blew out the candle.


	5. Sixth Year, part 2

**Sorry for making you wait so long! I'm going to be adding more to this, to fill out their sixth year. I figured I should publish what I have since I've been taking my sweet time. Bear with me here...I've been steering this story to a conversation that needs to happen and hopefully I did it some justice (special thanks to Rooonie for your input and sheer awesomeness!). Thanks for the R/R and your patience! -ASE**

* * *

**On the Sly**

Chapter 5

Shana drew back the curtains of the bed that belonged to the Slytherin Quidditch Captain, Paige McCullers. She wasn't sure what to expect (although, coming from the giggling of the girls in the other beds who egged her on, she had to admit she was curious) but it definitely wasn't the Captain being spooned by the Head Chaser, Pru, both girls breathing evenly as they slept. Shana had heard the rumors that the two girls slept together, but she didn't really believe them. Now she wondered if these two were in fact going out, considering that the first rumor turned out to be true. Everyone on the team knew the two girls were really close.

"Dammit, Pru…" Paige muttered, when the light from the room hit her face. "It's Saturday, go to sleep." Shana smirked when Paige burrowed her head under her pillow. Pru mumbled something incoherent in turn, cuddling further into Paige's back.

"Um…" Shana started to say, looking back at the other girls who were silently laughing, "Paige? Pru? You remember that we have Quidditch practice, right?" she said. Still the girls slept. Thinking that she needed to try a little harder, Shana poked at Paige's arm. A muffled groan came out from under the pillow, but no movement.

"Paige?" Shana tried again, shaking Paige's arm a little more firmly (and trying not think about how toned that arm was). She jumped back when Paige's arm moved but instead of attacking Shana, she placed her hand on Pru's hip and shoved her back. Pru woke up with a start, jolted from sleep by Paige's shove. She looked up at Shana, rubbed her eyes and looked at her again, then looked at Paige.

"Shana?" Pru asked in a hoarse voice. "What time is it?"

"It's 9:30," Shana reported, looking at her watch dutifully. "We still have Quidditch practice, right? Everyone's on the field, but when you guys didn't show up I told the team I'd come look for you."

"Oh shit," Pru exclaimed, grabbing at her hair. "Paige!" she said, shoving her friend forcefully. "Paige! Wake up!" Shana watched amusedly as Pru picked up Paige's pillow and hit her with it. "Wake up, we have practice!"

Paige opened her eyes, frustrated at first then confused when she saw Shana. Looking from her to Pru, Paige sat up quickly. Shana stole a glance at Paige in a loose green tank top, appreciating the amount of skin she was seeing.

"Hey Shana," Paige said, stretching and making Shana blush. Pru smirked. "We'll be there in ten minutes, promise." Shana nodded, looking Paige up and down one more time before running out of the dorm room.

"Tell me again why I scheduled practice for 9 o'clock on a Saturday morning?" Paige groaned as she climbed out of bed. Pru was already shuffling through her own trunk on the other side.

"Because you're the Captain and we need to get ready for the rest of our season," Pru stated. Both girls dressed quickly and grabbed their brooms. "And you're kind of an idiot."

"Yeah, I guess," Paige said absentmindedly as the girls made their way out of the 6th year girls' dorms and into the empty common room. "Good thing Shana came back to get us. We got in so late, I didn't even think to set an alarm." Once the girls left their common room, they sprinted down the dungeon corridor to the entrance of the castle, leaping onto their brooms the moment they made it outside. Paige could see the green-and-silver robes of her team, making her proud that they were disciplined enough that they still practiced despite their Captain not being there. It also made her feel guilty for sleeping in.

"Maybe you should rethink your lady-dates schedule," Pru commented as she flew beside her friend. Paige had snuck into bed earlier that morning waking up Pru momentarily.

"Maybe," Paige said. She enjoyed an impromptu evening with Emily, who had shown up from Christmas holidays earlier than her friends. They had snuck off together, not realizing how late it had gotten but not as bothered by it as they would have been during the school year. Emily walked Paige back to her common room—giving her a good night kiss that left Paige breathless—sometime around four in the morning. "Nice of Shana to come and get us, though," Paige remarked. Pru chuckled. It still amazed her how incredibly dense her best friend could be.

* * *

Emily spotted Spencer standing outside of the front of the castle, arms folded and her eyes squinted as she looked off in the distance. Emily looked in the direction that Spencer was intently starting at, seeing figures darting to and fro in the air.

"Spence? When did you get here?" Emily asked, approaching her friend. Spencer looked at Emily, her entire demeanor changing instantly.

"Hey Emily! How were your holidays?" Spencer asked, engulfing Emily in a warm hug. Emily smiled, hugging her friend back. They usually tried to meet up at least once during the break, to exchange Christmas presents and to enjoy a day or two together away from the castle, but each of the girls were busy with their vacations this time.

"Nice, but it's good to be back. Is it weird that I'm ready to get back to my studies?" Emily confided as her and Spencer let go of each other. Spencer chuckled, shaking her head.

"Remember who you're talking to?" Spencer asked pointedly, "I was ready to get back as soon as we left."

"You sure that was all strictly school related, nothing else?" Emily asked slyly. Spencer raised her eyebrows.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Spencer insisted, feigning ignorance as she stuck her nose pointedly in the air. Emily grinned. After Halloween, Spencer had begun seeing the Ravenclaw Head Boy, Toby Cavanaugh. One of the reasons he had agreed to switch Lucas and Emily that Halloween night, according to Lucas, was because he wanted to spend some time with Spencer. Apparently he had been trying to talk to Spencer for a while. The two had hit it off quite nicely, having gone on a few dates together and even studying together when their schedules allowed it. Hanna often teased Spencer about her and Toby's study dates; because they actually studied, unlike "normal" couples, as she put it. In fact, it seemed that all of the girls had found someone—Hanna and the "greasy-haired" Gryffindor boy, Caleb Rivers, finally decided to make it official (_About time_, Spencer grumbled, _considering that I've caught you guys making out in just about every corridor_) and even Aria was "seeing" someone. The girls were shocked to hear that she and the Muggle Studies teacher, Professor Fitz, had a "thing"—Hanna's words—although Aria promised them that they never went further than anything that would get either of them in trouble. Not entirely sure what that meant, the girls remained skeptical, although they kept their friend's secret. After all, none of the girls would ever betray the other in any way.

"Have you seen Hanna and Aria?" Spencer asked, looking at her watch. "They were supposed to be here by now."

"I haven't, but we could swing by their common room," Emily offered. "Who is that, by the way?" Emily asked gesturing towards the figures at the Quidditch pitch.

"It's Slytherin," Spencer said. "Looks like they're hard at work. No doubt McCullers is getting a head start on practice this season." Emily nodded. She didn't know Paige had practice this morning. If she had, she probably wouldn't have kept her up all night. She smiled thinking about their particularly lengthy make-out session last night. _Probably_.

"Let's go inside," Spencer said, not noticing the silly grin on Emily's face. "We can wait for them in the hall and you can tell me all about your Christmas holiday." Spencer offered her arm to Emily, who grasped it, and both girls walked inside the castle.

* * *

School started back up as normally as any school for witchcraft and wizardy could. Schedules were doled out and students dutifully attended their classes in much the same way they had before the holidays except of course, with the added pressure of finals. Emily was sitting at the table waiting for her friends when she saw Hanna and Aria appear at the Great Hall doors. She started to wave at them when she saw that Hanna seemed to be leading someone else by the hand…when Emily saw who it was, she immediately put her arm down.

"Hey Emily!" Aria greeted her.

"We brought you a surprise!" Hanna added.

"So…this is the friend you've been telling me about, huh?" Maya stated, looking from Hanna to Aria. Both girls nodded and Hanna turned to smile at Emily, who was looking like she'd rather be anywhere but here. Of course, Hanna didn't pick up on that.

"What did I tell you? She's hot right?" Hanna declared, nodding her head at Emily. Maya smirked. Emily smiled back at her weakly.

"Um, hey, Maya," Emily greeted her, "I haven't seen you in a while." Hanna and Aria's jaws dropped.

"You two know each other?" Aria asked. Both Emily and Maya nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me!" Hanna sputtered at Maya, who shrugged.

"Hey, you didn't tell me what her name was…of course, I should've guessed. You four are always together, right?" Maya thought out loud.

"How do you know each other?" Aria asked again, noticing the way Emily was acting. It was almost like she was forcing herself to be polite.

"Actually, it's kind of funny…"

"Um, guys? Can I talk to Maya alone please?" Emily interrupted quickly, "it'll just be for a minute." Hanna and Aria exchanged skeptical looks, but nodded.

"Sure, we'll just be over there," Hanna stated, gesturing to the other side of the table. Aria followed.

"Hey, look, I really didn't know," Maya apologized as soon as the others were out of earshot. "Aria talked to me about meeting a friend, in class, then Hanna kind of ambushed me in the common room."

"It's ok, you don't have to apologize. My friends have been trying to fix me up with someone since I came out to them. I just didn't think they'd actually go through with it," Emily uttered in disbelief, but in all honesty she knew it was her own fault for underestimating Hanna. Especially when it came relationships, or potential relationships.

"You came out to your friends?" Maya asked, impressed. "That's great, Emily. I know you were scared. I told you they'd love you no matter what." Emily beamed.

"Yeah, I should've known better," Emily agreed. "So how have you been? I haven't seen you in any of my classes for the past year or so."

"Well after O.W.L.S., I decided to focus more on music. I actually share most of my classes with Aria…like Astronomy and Divination. And we're both in the Muggle Art Studies course. I swear, Aria's like Fitz's favorite student or something," Maya remarked offhandedly. Emily just nodded along. "So I know you weren't expecting to see me or anything, but, would you actually like to hang out sometime? I mean, it doesn't have to be a date."

"I'm sorry, but I can't. I'm actually seeing someone," Emily informed her, Maya's eyebrows raising slightly.

"Really? I mean, you can tell me if you don't want to hang, it's cool," Maya said, assuming that Emily was just making up an excuse.

"I mean it. I'm seeing someone and I've been keeping it a secret from my friends," Emily reiterated, slightly irritated that Maya didn't believe her.

"Why? You're already out, so why do you have to keep them a secret?" Maya questioned.

"It's just that…my friends wouldn't understand," Emily said simply.

"Well okay…" Maya ceded, "But you're happy, right? I mean, this girl isn't horrible or something is she?"

"Nope, not at all," Emily affirmed, smiling widely. Maya couldn't help but smile back.

"Good for you, Emily," Maya said, standing up. Emily stood up with her. "I'm glad you're happy. I'll see you around, yeah?" Emily nodded. Maya gave her a hug, then grabbed both of her hands and kissed her on the cheek. Emily had forgotten how physically affectionate the girl could be, but wasn't bothered by it. She remembered how the other girl's hugs used to make her feel, when she was younger, but it was nothing compared to how she felt in Paige's arms. As soon as Maya let her go, there was a clatter at the Great Hall entrance. Both Maya and Emily looked quickly over, seeing a mass of silver and green Quidditch robes. Maya was still holding both of Emily's hands.

In the middle was Paige, who was staring at Emily and Maya intensely. So intensely, in fact, that without knowing why, Maya immediately let go of Emily and took an involuntary step back from her.

"Isn't that Paige McCullers?" Maya asked as she folded her arms across her chest. Maybe she just imagined Paige looking their way. When she looked up again, Paige seemed to be staring at the ground.

"Yeah, I think so," Emily whispered, internally cringing. She watched Paige, who was acting as if she had been put in the full body bind curse.

"Isn't she going out with that Pru girl?" Maya questioned again, watching as Pru hurriedly whispered something in Paige's ear. Whatever Pru was saying it seemed to be calming Paige down. She looked less rigid anyway. Maya glanced at Emily, wondering why her eyes were narrowed.

"I don't know…I'm gonna go sit with my friends ok? It was nice to see you," Emily added, after clearing her throat. Maya nodded and waved good-bye, going to sit with her own friends. She wanted to leave the hall, but the Slytherin team had the entrance blocked and she didn't want to have to get past them.

"Look at them! They don't know what to do!" Emily heard Hanna say as she sat down.

"What happened?" Emily asked, not daring to look back over. The guilt she had felt about Maya's kiss seemed to instantly vanish as soon as she saw Pru whispering in Paige's ear. In fact, she was getting kind of tired seeing Pru all over Paige.

"Well the Slytherin team was entering the Hall then Paige dropped her broom…and the team just kind of went crazy," Hanna recounted, "'Do you want us to pick it up?' 'Captain, are you ok?'" Hanna mimicked, a little cruelly, still watching the team. "Now they're moving. Paige looked pissed! Even her own team looked scared of her." Emily clenched her jaw, knowing what it was that had made Paige so upset…and there was the guilt again.

"Looks like Pru talked her out of it, whatever it was. So, Em, how did it go?" Hanna asked.

"We're not gonna go out," Emily said quickly. "And please, do not try to set me up with anyone again."

"But! But!" Hanna sputtered. Emily shook her head. "Ok, but at least tell me why! We all have boyfriends…well kind of," Hanna faltered, giving Aria a sympathetic look. Aria gave Hanna a "_really_?" look. "And I just want to see you happy with someone!"

"I don't want to date anyone, ok? I've got a lot on my plate right now," Emily stated. Hanna huffed.

"That's such a Spencer answer and, need I remind you, she's actually going out with someone!" Hanna practically shouted, causing a few heads to turn their way.

"Please, don't hook me up with anyone. Promise?" Emily said firmly, looking at Hanna.

"Don't worry, Em. It won't happen again," Aria promised.

"Yeah, I'm sorry," Hanna apologized, giving Emily a hug. "Matchmaker Hanna is officially on a break."

"So, if you don't mind me asking, how exactly did you know Maya?" Aria asked, now that things had settled down.

"She was my first kiss," Emily confessed.

* * *

"I think you're making a big deal out of nothing," Pru scolded her best friend as she forcefully led Paige to their common room. It was a difficult feat, considering how much of a struggle Paige was putting up even though Pru had her in a headlock. Pru sighed and pulled her wand from her robes, poking Paige in both of her arms. Immediately, Paige's arms fell limp to her sides.

"What the hell, Pru!" Paige seethed. She twisted her body from side to side, but her arms remained limp. If the situation were different and Paige wasn't so upset, Pru probably would've laughed.

"You're being stupid," Pru announced, "and I'm keeping you from acting out on that stupidity." As soon as classes resumed, Paige had started them on an evening schedule in order to accommodate everyone's needs. The Slytherin team had just gotten back from a great practice, with everyone in good spirits, when Paige happened to see Emily and Maya embracing each other warmly. Without warning, Paige had stopped and the whole team stopped with her. When the two girls let go of each other, and Maya kissed Emily on the cheek, Paige had dropped her Firebolt, prompting the team to fight over who was going to pick it up and if they should pick it up. Pru, who had seen what Paige had seen, immediately started whispering in her ear, trying to talk her down.

"I just wanted to talk to her!" Paige argued, but Pru scoffed at her.

"You were gonna walk up to her, in front of her friends and almost the whole school, and just _talk_? How ridiculous does that sound?" Paige became silent, knowing that Pru was right. They made it to the common room and up to the dorms, where Pru pushed Paige onto her bed. Paige, who still had no feeling in her arms, fell face first and lay still. Pru grabbed Paige's book and threw it on her legs and then tapped both of Paige's arms with her wand. It took a while until Paige moved, but eventually she sat up and rubbed her arms, trying to increase the blood flow. It felt like her arms had been asleep.

"Now, write it out. Ask for an explanation," Pru instructed, pointing at the book in Paige's lap. Paige looked sullen. "Don't give me that look. You ask her for an explanation. Don't jump to conclusions." Pru went over to her own bed to change out of her practice robes.

"Where are you going?" Paige asked petulantly.

"_I_ am going to get dinner. I was supposed to meet Lucas, before you wigged the hell out," Pru informed her, scolding her like she was a child. Paige huffed. "Aren't you supposed to be writing?" Paige glared at her best friend, who ignored her.

"Why aren't you on my side? You saw what I saw, you know who Maya is," Paige grumbled.

"I am. I did. And I do," Pru answered, "but I know you and you know Emily. You're just not thinking clearly. You tend to not think clearly when it comes to her." Paige sighed. After Pru finished changing, she spared a sympathetic look at her friend who looked quite pitiful.

"I'll bring you something to eat," Pru offered and Paige nodded. "And I'll see what I can get out of Lucas, if it helps. See you later, ok?"

"When did you become so smart?" Paige remarked as she sat against her pillow and opened her book.

"What are you talking about, I've always been the smart one," Pru responded, throwing a quill and an unopened bottle of ink and giving her friend a wink.

Paige stared at the book, thinking over what her friend had said. She needed to talk to Emily, that much was true. She couldn't do it through the book though; they needed to be face-to-face. Opening the book up, she scribbled hastily on the first page.

* * *

"Emily, what's wrong?" Spencer asked as she watched her friend open her notebook up for what may have been the twentieth time that morning. They were sitting in Transfiguration, waiting for class to start. Professor McGonagall was busy talking with an agitated Ravenclaw.

"Nothing," Emily answered automatically, still glancing at the notebook even though she had closed it and set it off to the side. Spencer often wondered why that notebook had suddenly become so important to her friend. It was always empty and Spencer tried everything she could to figure out if there was anything hidden in there…she wasn't _proud_ to admit that she was snooping (or as Hanna would say, being a _creeper_), but she was even less proud to admit that whatever secrets the notebook contained still remained a mystery to her. Having shrugged off her failure as a sign that she really shouldn't be going through Emily's things, Spencer went back to throwing curious/distrustful looks at Emily's enigma of a notebook whenever it was within her sight.

Emily had seemed agitated since the other day when Hanna and Aria had tried unsuccessfully to set her up with Maya. Spencer had walked in just in time to hear the story of Emily's first kiss, how she had developed a small crush on Maya during their classes together their second year and had been invited to a small "get together" which ended in a game of spin-the-wand. The girls listened intently as Emily recalled how she had felt about Maya, about her realization that she was only interested in girls not boys, and it made Spencer realize that Emily had gone through so much without her friends knowing a thing. Yet, it still felt like Emily was keeping things from her best friends.

"Hey Emily, hey Spencer," Lucas greeted them as he took a seat at the table to the left of them, on Emily's side.

"Cutting it kind of close, aren't you?" Spencer said across from Emily, looking at her watch. Lucas shrugged.

"I know. I met up with Pru for breakfast and I forgot about the time," he admitted. Emily looked at him.

"What did you guys talk about?" Emily asked hesitantly. Before Lucas could say anything, Spencer scoffed.

"Yes, what did you talk about with Pru? I'm sure she's just fascinating," Spencer laughed, not even waiting for an answer. Lucas frowned.

"She is, actually," Lucas retorted, but Spencer wasn't paying attention. Emily grimaced and mouthed "sorry" at Lucas, who was looking at her like he was disappointed.

"Talk after class?" Emily asked quietly, leaning over slightly towards Lucas. Lucas nodded. As class started, Emily thought she heard him mutter _You're going to have to stand up to them sometime_.

* * *

"You should have talked to her last night," Pru stressed, "You know, like I told you?" Pru watched as Paige gathered up her things to head outside. They had just gotten back from double potions, which meant lunch then a free period. Paige was going to spend that time at the cove.

"I needed some time," Paige admitted, stuffing her bag with candy. The sea turtle she had patched up a few years ago came back every now and then to see her. She found out he had a thing for licorice wands and so she always took some with her when she went out. "I was frustrated, but I heard what you said and it made sense. Besides, it was just a kiss on the cheek, right?"

"Uh huh. So what exactly did I say that made you see sense?" Pru asked, still watching her friend move about the dorm.

"You _know_ what you said," Paige snapped, straightening up. "Did Lucas say anything to you?"

"Well of course he said _something_ to me. You expect us to sit there and gaze longingly at each other from across the table?" Pru asked sarcastically.

"You're such an ass," Paige muttered. "Em and I don't do that." Pru tutted.

"Right. Our fourth year, when you told me about you two, that's how I knew she liked you. She was always watching you," Pru pointed out.

"Whatever," Paige blushed, but still wondered if it was true. Pru rolled her eyes.

"You're so thick sometimes," Pru continued, "I bet it's one of the reasons why she likes you. It's kind of endearing."

"Are you telling me that she likes me because I'm dumb?" Paige asked, straightening up to scowl at Pru.

"I didn't say you were _dumb_," Pru clarified. "I said you were a _thick-head_. There's a lot of things you just don't notice...it's in the little things, Paige. You're more of a big picture kind of person."

"Is that bad?" Paige questioned, going back to stuffing her bag.

"Not necessarily," Pru answered, "You know the outcome you want and so you work to achieve that outcome. It's just something to think about." What was Pru supposed to say? She could tell that Emily was all about the details; she was the kind of person who noticed the little things; it was something Pru often used to her advantage. She knew that Paige was happy with Emily. In fact, she was probably the happiest she had ever been. But were the two girls right for each other?

Lunch was in full swing by the time Paige and Pru arrived. Finding a seat with the Quidditch team, both girls dug into their meals with gusto.

"We still on for practice tomorrow night, captain?" one of the guys asked. Paige nodded.

"We need to discuss some new tactics. Plus, I want to run a couple of new ideas with all of you before our match with Hufflepuff," she added, looking at each of her teammates. They all nodded enthusiastically. Paige had proven to her team that she was an effective leader; she was patient and clever, which produced a lot of interesting trick plays on the pitch. Add to that the bolstered team spirit induced by the arrival of Paige's Firebolt—the team's confidence was riding pretty high. Even the Hastings girl didn't have a Firebolt and everyone knew her family was from old money.

"And I promise I won't keep her from getting to practice on time," Pru winked, causing the whole team to bust out laughing. Paige winked back at her. It was funny to think that Paige had loosened up enough to joke around with Pru like this, especially in front of other people. Paige was never one to dwell on what people thought of her, but it didn't mean she wasn't a private person. Despite her reservations about Paige's _actual_ girlfriend, she knew that Emily played a major part in helping Paige get over some of her insecurities. Speaking of Emily, Pru glanced over at the girls' preferred table to see them chatting and eating. Paige hadn't been sneaking looks like she usually did, but Emily still was.

"What did I miss?" Shana asked, walking over to the table and setting her bag down next to Paige. Paige smiled at her.

"Oh not much," one of the other team mates assured her, "just discussing the Cap and Pru's love life."

"Yes, we've decided to come out publicly," Pru declared, wrapping an arm around Paige's neck and kissing her cheek. This only made the team laugh louder, Shana and Paige included. Her eyes darted towards Emily and she was not disappointed. The other girl's left eye had started to twitch slightly.

"Are you telling me that Paige McCullers is officially off the market?" Shana joked. "Damn, missed my opportunity."

"That you did," Pru joked back. She knew that Shana wasn't completely joking around, however, even if Paige laughed at their banter.

Emily knew that Pru was watching her. She caught her looking at her when she was trying to sneak glances at Paige. It irked her to no end that Pru seemed to be openly challenging her—patronizing her by hanging all over Paige. Was she goading her into taking some kind of action? Whatever it was, Emily was tired of it. She liked to pretend that it didn't bother her, but she could tell that Pru knew it bothered her anyhow. It didn't help that Lucas seemed to be smitten with Pru, which meant that Emily had to be nice to that girl for _two_ really good reasons. After transfiguration class, Emily pulled Lucas aside to talk but he didn't really have anything useful to say. She was supposed to meet Paige this afternoon and hadn't talked to her at all minus the short message she had received from Paige's end of the notebook.

* * *

"Hey."

Paige turned around, seeing Emily appear on the far end of the cove. She nodded at Emily and turned back to the water. She had a creature in her hands that looked like a ball but with two limbs that appeared to be tied in a knot. Paige had been trying to untie the poor Plimpy's legs without using her wand, because she didn't think it would be that serious. Plus, it was satisfying to be able to keep her hands busy. Grabbing her wand she pointed at the knotted limbs, watching as they unknotted themselves. The blotchy fish-like creature nibbled on Paige's hands, which Paige took as a sign of appreciation, and she tossed it lightly beyond the barrier that separated the cove from the rest of the lake. She walked towards the shore, where Emily had sat down. Paige pointed her wand at her cloak and it flew towards her, a little more enthusiastically then she had intended. Not bothering to dry off, she wrapped the cloak around her body and sat down next to Emily.

"Hey," Paige said. She looked at Emily, trying to get a feel for how she might be feeling but Emily seemed to be keeping whatever it was to herself. Regardless, the air between the two of them was tense, but more awkward than anything. Paige wasn't sure if she should just dive right in or wait for Emily to respond to her. She opened her mouth to say something else, but fortunately Emily started to talk.

"Paige, I owe you an explanation," Emily confessed, looking at Paige. Paige nodded, gesturing that she should continue. "What you saw yesterday, that wasn't anything. My friends had tried to set me up with someone…"

"Maya," Paige specified. Emily frowned.

"You know her?"

"I know of her," Paige replied. "She's got a reputation."

"What kind of reputation?" Emily asked, slightly annoyed. "And when did you become so judgmental?"

"I'm not judging," Paige assured her, "She's been known to break a few hearts, that's all. I didn't mean anything else by it. Please, continue."

"Like I was saying, my friends tried to set me up with her," Emily started again, "but they didn't know we already knew each other."

"What do you mean you _knew_ each other?" Paige interjected, her eyebrows crashing together.

"Are you going to let me finish?" Emily demanded, annoyed again. "Or are you going to pester me with questions?" Paige sensed there was something else bothering Emily, but she didn't say anything. She put her fingers to her lips, indicating that she would remain silent.

"Anyway, I knew Maya from a few years ago. We were at a social gathering and we ended up kissing. She was the first girl I had a crush on. Nothing happened after that, we didn't date or anything. I was too shy and still in the closet and we parted ways. What you saw was just her being friendly; I told her I was seeing someone and when we were saying our good-byes, she kissed me on the cheek. That was all," Emily ended her story, looking at Paige.

"So…Maya was your first kiss?" Paige asked after a moment. Emily nodded, watching as Paige mulled over this new piece of information. "Did you really tell her you were seeing someone else?"

Emily smiled. _Well _that_ was easy_… "Yeah, I did. She didn't believe me…but I told her it was true." Paige smiled widely. She heard all she needed to hear. The awkward tension between the two seemed to finally dissipate and Paige pulled Emily over towards her, Emily yelping in surprise.

"You're cold and wet!" Emily shrieked. Paige laughed, pulling the girl into her lap. Pru had been right, it wasn't a big deal.

"You should warm me up then," Paige uttered in a husky voice. Emily bit her lip, considering her words.

"Maybe," Emily jested, pushing on Paige's shoulders to make her lie down. Paige let herself fall back on the sand, as Emily repositioned herself to sit on her stomach.

"Maybe?" Paige repeated, reaching up to pull Emily down for a kiss. Emily gave her a quick kiss and sat back up, making Paige growl in frustration.

"Yes maybe. I told you about my first kiss…now you have to tell me about yours," Emily declared, poking Paige playfully on the sides of her stomach. Paige squirmed.

"I don't think you wanna know," Paige said, trying to grab Emily's hands to stop the poking.

"Why?" Emily asked, her hands moving to tickle Paige's stomach lightly, "Is it someone I know?"

"Kind of," Paige laughed, Emily's tickling causing her to react. "I have to admit, it wasn't my idea. I was definitely the kissee, not the kisser."

"I'm not gonna stop until you tell me!" Emily threatened, continuing to tickle the other girl. Paige chuckled.

"Ok, fair enough! It was Pru," Paige chuckled. Emily inhaled sharply, the playfulness leaving her eyes as she felt Paige's words hit her full force. Her hands fell like dead weight at her sides. Paige instantly regretted saying what she said, if only because of Emily's reaction to it.

"Em…?" Paige asked hesitantly. Emily was looking at her, but she didn't seem to hear Paige at all. Thoughts of Pru and Paige were flitting through Emily's mind as she recalled the many time she'd seen the two girls all over each other. _Just let it go_…_just let it go_…

"Pru? You've kissed her?" Emily asked in a dangerously low voice. _So much for letting it go_. Paige propped herself up on her elbows, wondering exactly what was going on.

"Well, yeah, I mean well she kind of kissed me, actually," Paige confessed, again regretting opening her mouth. Emily looked really scary.

"Pru kissed you? When did that happen?" Emily asked again in that low voice of hers. Paige wet her lips, still unsure what to make of the situation.

"Um, I don't know. A couple years ago?" Paige answered uncertainly.

"A couple years ago, we started dating!" Emily exclaimed. "Are you telling me that Pru kissed you when we were dating?"

"Now wait a minute!" Paige stated firmly, "I never kissed anyone else while we were dating!"

"But you continued to sleep with Pru after we started dating!" Emily practically shouted. She hadn't meant to say that, but there it was. Paige had said they were only friends…she should have known there was more to it.

"What? Where is this coming from? You knew Pru would sleep in my bed…it's something we've done for a while now!" Paige protested. None of this was making any sense to her. "Pru and I have been friends longer than you and I have been dating!" she added, trying to defend herself.

"And that makes it ok? Did you always sleep together with the curtains drawn?" Emily retorted and she fell back on to Paige's lap when the Slytherin girl sat up quickly.

"What exactly are you accusing me of?" Paige demanded. Emily was flushed from their conversation and she was staring intensely at Paige. Her mind was going through all of the interactions Pru and Paige had, that she had seen. She felt righteous in her anger, that all of the things she had suspected about Pru and Paige having been together were in fact true. She was tired of feeling jealous every time she saw Pru hugging Paige or being overly affectionate and she was tired of hearing about Paige and Pru sleeping together or that they were going out. Paige was her girlfriend; all of those things she was doing with Pru, she should be doing with her, her _actual_ girlfriend.

"You love _her_," Emily whispered. She said it so quietly that Paige almost didn't hear.

"Yes, I love her. She's my best friend," Paige proclaimed, still confused. Why was Emily making such a big deal out of this? She had three best friends that she was going to have to contend with and she never pestered Emily about how close they all were. "You…you're jealous?" Paige asked uncertainly, as if the thought had never occurred to her. _The little things_…Paige thought about what Pru had said earlier. Suddenly she felt guilty for joking around with Pru earlier. _Did Emily really notice those kinds of things_? Emily, who was already flustered, flushed a deeper shade of red.

"I am not jealous!" she snapped. Paige grabbed the girl's hands, holding them gently.

"You are," Paige said in disbelief, "You're actually jealous."

"You can stop saying that now! I heard you the first time!" Emily exclaimed, looking away from the girl. She felt horrible—her face was hot and she felt embarrassed to be having this conversation. As much as Emily tried to be ok with Paige and Pru's friendship, it still bugged her more than it probably should. Normally she would go to her friends for advice, but that was not an option. Emily wondered if keeping Paige a secret from them was actually a smart move.

"Paige…" Emily uttered her name, the anger and the fight leaving her. She slumped back, not remembering where she was. Paige wrapped her arms around her quickly before she fell. She pushed Emily's hair behind her ears, her eyes darting all over Emily's face as if it would give her some kind of insight as to what her girl was thinking. "You're right. I'm jealous."

Paige hugged Emily close. "I told you, Pru is my best friend. We've been a part of each other's lives since we were babies. You have nothing to worry about."

"But she kissed you…and she's always all over you," Emily said, her voice slightly muffled by Paige's hair. Her arms were wrapped around Paige's neck.

"Yeah, she did kiss me. And it was way before you and I ever talked to each other. She was just being Pru…someone dared her to kiss the next person she saw and that person happened to be me," Paige explained. "And if it bothers you so much…we can tone it down."

"Really?" Emily asked.

"Yes, really. I'll talk to Pru," Paige promised, "but you have to remember that she's my support system. I'm not going to completely cut her off for you." Emily disentangled herself from Paige and looked into her eyes.

"I would never ask that of you," Emily assured her. "You don't think I know how important she is to you?" Emily wondered, not for the first time, how seeing her with her friends affected Paige. She couldn't always tell with Paige… What bothered her the most about Pru and Paige was that she wanted to be able to touch and hold Paige whenever _she_ wanted. Emily figured that could be a conversation for next time. _Maybe I should talk with Pru_, Emily thought.

"She is important to me, but so are you," Paige professed, placing her hands on Emily's hips. "I don't always know what's going on in that head of yours. If something bothers you, tell me, ok? We can work it out." Emily nodded, grinning when Paige smiled widely at her. "So…was that our first real fight as a couple?"

Emily pushed Paige playfully. "Maybe." Remembering that she was in fact sitting in Paige's lap, Emily wrapped her legs around the other girl's back. Paige gasped, giving Emily the opportunity to slip in a quick kiss. It was supposed to be a quick kiss, but Paige held onto her pushing her abdomen into Emily and causing her to emit a gasp of her own.

"Are we ok?" Paige whispered against Emily's lips. Emily nodded.

"Does this mean we can make out?" Paige asked, making Emily laugh.

"Yes!" Emily breathed, grabbing Paige's face with both of her hands and kissing her deeply.

* * *

"You should let me talk to her," Pru said as she and Paige walked to the Great Hall. It had been a week since Paige and Emily's talk and all of the sixth years were making their way over for apparition lessons.

"What? Why?" Paige asked. She looked for a line that didn't have too many students in it, catching Emily's eye in the process. Emily flashed her a bright smile which made Paige grin and duck her head. When Pru, who had been in the middle of answering her best friend's questions, turned to see if Paige was paying attention she caught sight of Emily's smile and knew that Paige's mind was definitely elsewhere.

"There's room over there," Pru pointed out, looking over at Emily and her friends, "why don't we go over there?"

"What, so I can make a fool of myself in front of her friends?" Paige retorted. "No thanks."

"You've apparated before," Pru countered. "We both have."

"Yeah, doesn't mean we're gonna excel at it the first time," Paige remarked. She steered Pru over to the opposite end of the hall with her hands on her shoulders.

"No touching!" Pru practically shouted, her hands up in the air as Paige pushed her. Paige looked back at Emily, who was looking at them amusedly along with the rest of their peers.

"Don't be dumb," Paige chuckled. The talk she and Emily had seemed to clear the air between them considerably. Paige had talked it over with Pru who agreed to keep the handsy stuff to a minimum. Pru surprised her by telling her that she suspected Emily had been jealous of their relationship for a while (_the little things_, thick-head) and she was less surprised to hear that Pru often used that knowledge to her advantage. She let go of Pru as soon as they joined a line with one other student. As soon as they arrived, Lucas joined them.

"Hey Badger boy!" Pru cried out, punching Lucas in the arm.

"Hey Lucas," Paige greeted him, "You ever apparated before?" He shook his head.

"I was practically raised by muggles," Lucas told her. "Pru said that you two have before, though. Side-along?" Lucas was still a tad bit shy when it came to interacting with Paige. Even though Pru had told him that Paige didn't have a problem with him, Lucas still became anxious. He viewed Paige as Pru's older sister—someone who would not hesitate to curse him if he gave her any reason to (when Pru told Paige that, she shrugged it off but said Lucas better keep that thought in mind).

"Yeah, usually with our Aunt," Paige said. "She would watch us when our parents went to work." She listened as the instructor talked about the "three d's" and watched as they were put into action. Remembering the sensation of apparating (something she'd never forget) she mentally visualized what she needed to do. She caught Emily's eye again, both girls smiling at each other before they returned to practicing.

"Now remember, you have to be dedicated, determined and dependable," Lucas instructed Pru, who was looking at him incredulously.

"Where the _hell_ did you get that?" Pru asked. Lucas laughed.

"I'm sorry…it's just a commercial…" Pru poked Lucas in the stomach playfully, "…ok, ok! I'm sorry, I just thought it was funny!"

"You're so weird," Pru commented as she stuck her tongue out at Lucas. "Go for it Badger boy," she said, indicating that it was Lucas's turn. Lucas stepped up hesitantly, watching the others as they attempted to apparate. No one seemed to be getting the hang of it—just about everyone seemed to be falling down.

"Are you going to let me talk to her?" Pru asked Paige, continuing their conversation from earlier.

"I'm not her keeper or anything. If she wants to talk to you then talk. If not, don't push it," Paige answered. Both girls watched as Lucas made an attempt to apparate but he didn't seem to be moving at all.

"Don't you think we should have a talk though? The girlfriend and the best friend—or, the original girlfriend," Pru added as an afterthought. Paige rolled her eyes.

"If she agrees to talk, fine. As far as I'm concerned I have three women in my life I need to please; one at home and two at school. You and Em are the ones that matter right now," Paige explained. "But I'm not going to demand that you two get along." Pru nodded, turning to watch Lucas. If that's how Paige really felt, then Pru owed it to her best friend to get along with her girlfriend. As long as the girlfriend was willing to do the same. Lucas walked back over, letting Paige take a turn.

"Hey Lucas, I'm gonna need your help with something…"


	6. Sixth Year, part 3

Enjoy :) -ASE

* * *

**On the Sly**

"Shit, Paige. Did you have to knock me out in front of the entire class?" Pru muttered darkly as she rubbed her backside. Just one time, _one time_, Pru would like to get one over on Paige. What was worse, she knew that Paige wasn't even paying attention to the class.

"It was hardly the entire class…just a few others," Paige said distractedly. They were practicing counter-curses in Defense Against the Dark Arts. "Besides, I didn't mean to. It was the only thing that came to mind." Paige hadn't really been paying much attention in class. She had peeked inside her notebook and saw that Emily wanted to meet up. She wasn't sure how it was going to happen exactly; they were just let out of class and she didn't know where the girl was.

"Hey!" Lucas said, hurrying up to them. He nodded at Paige. "Did you see Emily? She rushed out as soon as class was over. I thought I saw her heading over here." Paige shook her head. "What's wrong with you?" Lucas asked Pru, who was scowling.

"Paige knocked me out in class today!" Pru whined. "Paige?" Pru turned around to locate her friend, who was just beside her a second ago and pouted when she saw that she had disappeared.

"Guess Emily found her," Lucas smirked.

It took only a few seconds for Paige to orient herself, when she was pulled by her robes into an empty room. She had grabbed her wand instinctively, but let it go when she felt lips covering her own in a kiss that left her breathless and wanting more. When Emily let go of her, Paige pulled her closer, grabbed her by her hips and lifted her up. Taking the not-so-subtle hint, Emily bit her bottom lip and wrapped her legs around Paige's stomach as the other pressed her up against the wall.

"Surprised?" Emily whispered, moaning slightly when Paige began nipping at her neck.

"Maybe a little," Paige murmured against her skin. She kissed Emily's throat softly, making a trail to her collarbone. Emily unclasped Paige's cloak, letting it fall to the floor, and she wrapped her arms around the girl's neck. Paige wrapped her arms firmly around Emily's back and moved her from the wall—still holding her up—so that Emily could take her own cloak off. As soon as she had, Paige walked them over to a desk—what she assumed was a desk—and sat Emily down on the surface.

"Door locked?" Paige asked. She ran her palms across Emily's thighs, slowly pushing the girl's skirt up.

"Yes," Emily answered, grabbing Paige by her hips. She ran her hands underneath Paige's shirt, tugging at the material.

"I don't think we have that much time," Paige chuckled. She suspected that Emily was pouting and although she could finally see Emily's outline she couldn't really see her face.

"Then stop talking and get on top of me," Emily growled, pulling Paige down. It was awkward—the desk was cold and hard and Paige wasn't sure exactly how big the desk was. She on her knees in between Emily's parted legs...but what if one of them fell off?

"We need a couch or something," Paige muttered and both of the girls stopped moving as they heard a small thud. Standing up quickly, Paige tripped and fell on something behind her that was definitely not there before.

"It's a…couch?" Paige said, patting the cushions in disbelief. She heard Emily stand up and inhaled sharply when she sat in her lap, straddling Paige. It was a feeling Paige could never prepare herself for; the warm, soft skin of Emily's thighs on either side of her abdomen, the slight pressure of Emily's chest pressed against hers…and when she could feel Emily open and pressed against her stomach like that…Paige lost all ability to think rationally. Hesitantly, Paige lifted Emily's skirt so that Emily could be even closer. When Emily pressed herself against Paige's abdomen, both girls gasped. Paige slipped both of her hands in Emily's hair and pulled her down to kiss her, pushing her stomach against Emily's center as she did. Emily groaned, unable to keep still—her hands traveled from Paige's neck to the bottom of the girl's shirt and she lifted it up slightly so that she could feel bare skin. Paige moved her hands from Emily's hair to her hips, moving the girl against her slowly. Both girls were overwhelmed and overstimulated; with only one thin piece of fabric separating them, neither girl could think of anything else. By this time, Emily had increased the pace and Paige had slipped her hands underneath Emily's uniform and she was biting and sucking at Emily's neck. A part of Paige—a very small part—thought that they should probably stop but that part was buried beneath the massive network of electric impulses that were positively buzzing from the feel of Emily moving against her and listening to the small noises she was emitting at regular intervals. She felt a small tug below her stomach when realized that whenever Emily made contact, she was actually uttering her name.

Just as Emily started moving faster against her and gripping Paige tightly, both girls jumped as they heard the first bell for classes.

"Dammit!" Emily growled. She rested her forehead against Paige's as she breathed heavily.

"I'm sorry Em," Paige whispered. "We can skip class…?" Despite her frustration, Emily laughed.

"No, we shouldn't," Emily sighed reluctantly. "We're supposed to be responsible leaders." Paige heaved an exaggerated sigh, making Emily chuckle. "I'll get to see you later, yes?" Emily asked as she kissed Paige.

"Not today, remember? Quidditch," Paige managed to say. Emily growled, giving Paige's bottom lip a small nip before sucking on it gently. "Umm…what was I saying…?" Paige whispered, before Emily slipped her tongue in Paige's mouth.

"You were just telling me that you were blowing me off to play Quidditch," Emily reminded her, giving Paige one more quick kiss. Paige grunted and tried to kiss Emily again, but Emily stood up quickly and began smoothing out her uniform. Grumbling, Paige stood up and grabbed Emily's cloak, pulling out her wand. As soon as she grabbed the wand, it emitted a beam of light that she directed towards Emily. As soon as Emily had made sure everything was in place, Paige pointed the wand at her own cloak and caught it when it came hurtling towards her. Emily helped her fasten her cloak, kissing her again and taking her wand from Paige's hand.

"Where's your wand at?" Emily asked, looking around them. Paige jerked her head towards the door, before pulling Emily close.

"That…what we just did…was that ok?" Paige asked, kissing Emily on the tip of her nose.

"Yes it was," Emily reassured her. "However…I can't say that I really have any prior experience in this area to base that off of…"

"Really?" Paige asked, immediately hating how hopeful she sounded.

"Really," Emily affirmed. "I mean, unless you want me to…"

"You better not," Paige growled, enveloping Emily in a hug before she could finish. Emily laughed.

* * *

"Is it me, or does it seem a little crowded?," Aria muttered quietly to Emily. Emily looked at their table, which had expanded to include two more people—Caleb Rivers (who was currently making out with Hanna) and Toby Cavanaugh.

"Now, now, don't be jealous," Hanna said. She was still sitting next to Emily, but had Caleb on her other side.

"It's a wonder you could hear me at all," Aria remarked. Hanna stuck her tongue out at her.

"So Emily, Hufflepuff versus Slytherin, how do you think your team will do?" Caleb asked. Emily liked Caleb, he was laid back, funny and fiercely protective of Hanna.

"I don't keep up with Quidditch that much" _liar _"but from what I've heard, Hufflepuff had been working really hard," Emily said, not really giving an opinion.

"Yeah, but so has Slytherin. Have you seen McCullers and her team? Slytherin is looking really good this year," Caleb pointed out.

"Those Slytherins think they have some kind of edge with that Firebolt…what good is that kind of broom for a keeper?" Spencer asked. "She has a limited range…that broom would be better suited for a chaser. Or better yet, the _Seeker_."

"That's true too. But still, a _firebolt_?" Caleb repeated, emphasizing "firebolt" like the word itself was pure gold.

"I really wouldn't know," Emily confessed. "I don't keep up with those kinds of things." She did, however, listen to about half an hour of Paige rattling off about the awesomeness that was the Firebolt, compared to all the other brooms that had been released thus far. It was really cute to watch Paige talk about it, but honestly Emily was paying more attention to her than what she was saying.

"Yeah, seriously, what's the difference between a firebolt and the cumulus-over-9000 or whatever," Hanna remarked flippantly, adding a defensive, "_what_?" when Caleb, Spencer and Toby looked at her like she had sprouted another head.

"It's a Nimbus, first of all—"

"And there's a huge difference—"

"Otherwise we'd all be riding the same brooms!" Spencer shouted.

"Way to go Hanna," Aria smiled.

"Whatever," Hanna shrugged.

"Breathe, guys," Emily laughed. "Who do you guys think will win tonight?"

"I hate it to say it, Emily, but I think Hufflepuff is going down," Caleb managed to say (he'd been shaking his head at Hanna). "What about you, Toby?"

"Yeah, I agree," he added apologetically.

"Really, it's ok," Emily reassured them. "Our team hasn't been good for a while, I know that much. What about you, Spence?"

"I hate myself for saying this…" Spencer began, gritting her teeth, "but Slytherin is going to win. Not only that, but they'll get the points to keep ahead of both Hufflepuff and Gryffindor—sorry Caleb—I have to hand it to McCullers, there's a noticeable difference in her team now to even before we left for the break."

"Oh?" Hanna asked, feigning interest, "Have you been watching them practice?"

"Spying is more like it," Aria corrected. "All the times she's dragged me outside, I'm telling you, I think she's developed a thing for Paige." She leaned over the table, "Sorry Toby."

"I was not spying!" Spencer argued, "They practice a lot and I watch from a distance." She looked to Toby for backup, but he was watching her with an amused expression.

"Are you allowed to do that?" Emily teased.

"Yeah, and shouldn't Paige know that you're creeping on her?" Hanna added.

"It's not spying!" Spencer declared. "And I am not a creeper!" she added, slamming her hand on the table for emphasis. Hanna mouthed "whoa!" and put her hands up in the air. The others laughed, even Toby.

* * *

"Ok everyone, listen up," Paige said, looking around at her team seated in the changing rooms. "How we win is up to you…either we do this fast or painfully slow," she finished with a smirk. The team started whooping in delight, catcalling and laughing.

"Let's get the points, cap!" one of the beaters shouted, raising his voice amidst the noise. Most of the team seemed to agree, yelling their approval.

"We've got Hufflepuff by about a hundred and fifty, Gryffindor by about seventy-five and Ravenclaw has us by eighty," Pru spoke up, "even if we only caught the snitch, we'd be in for second for sure."

"Yeah, but that also depends on Ravenclaw and Gryffindor," Shana added, "we're going to have to up the points if we want to pass Ravenclaw. Mona hasn't failed to catch the snitch yet." Mona, who was notorious for having one of the longest hat-stalls the school had ever seen, was probably the tiniest person out of each of the four teams. She was unstoppable when it came to finding the snitch.

"We were so close to having her!" someone moaned.

"She made her choice, no point in dwelling on it. Alright then, no catching the snitch until we've got at least a hundred points," Paige summarized, making sure to look each of her teammates in the eye. Each of the players looked at her with the same fierce determination she was feeling which made her even more confident that they were going to be okay. _Maybe even win the cup this year_… "Alright, let's go!" She waited as the team filed out, her and Pru bringing up the rear.

"What do you think, cap?" Pru asked as she slung an arm around her best friend's shoulders. Paige grinned, unable to keep her game-face on.

"I think we're really going to win it this year, Pru."

* * *

Slythern versus Hufflepuff played out pretty much as everyone suspected (Hufflepuffs and the Hufflepuff Quidditch team included). After nearly an hour of goals from each side—slightly more Slytherin goals—the snitch was caught making the final score 300 to 90, in Slytherin's favor. The general consensus was that Slytherin was just toying with them—but at the end of the match, when the team captains shook hands, it was very sportsmanlike and amicable.

The final scores meant that Slytherin was in the lead for the cup for at least a month and that they were going to be laying in the final match—meaning that the Slytherin common room enjoyed one of their biggest celebrations since perhaps the last time Slytherin won the cup. Paige had been congratulated in just about every human way possible—she'd been hoisted in the air, punched in the arm a few times and even had her hair tousled by some of the seventh years—and their celebrating had gotten rambunctious to the point that Severus Snape himself had been sent down to tell them to keep it down. As soon as Professor Snape entered the common room, the party died down immediately, until someone shouted "Now the real party can start!". Smirking, Snape had said a few words congratulating the team and then took the prefects aside and had a few words with them. Grabbing a butterbeer, he excused himself and went back to bed. The prefects relayed the message—_don't do anything stupid_—and the party started back up again. Pru and Paige were occupying a chair, Paige actually sitting in the chair and Pru sitting on the arm, both enjoying snacks and butterbeer.

"Hufflepuff is officially out of the running for the cup," Pru said and Paige nodded.

"We're gonna be playing Ravenclaw for the cup," Paige predicted, taking a sip of her drink.

"How are you so sure?" Pru was keeping the conversation going, even though she agreed with Paige. She was trying to pry open a chocolate frog.

"Gryffindor's got nothing on Ravenclaw's strategy. They're all about offense and Ravenclaw has a well-rounded team; they play offense and defense well," Paige explained. Pru made a noise of agreement, finally opening the box only to watch the frog hop up on the wall. "Plus have you seen Hastings lately? That girl is sporting full crazy eyes." Both girls laughed. Shana made her way over to them and when Pru saw the look in her eyes, she slipped off the arm of the chair into Paige's lap (startling Paige somewhat, but who by then was so used to moving around Pru that she lifted her arms to keep her drink from spilling and set them down on Pru).

"Hey Shana," Pru greeted the other girl, who looked at Pru like she was just now noticing her existence. Pru reckoned the girl might have had a few too many butterbeers.

"Oh, hey Pru," Shana said, her tone disappointed. "You two enjoying yourselves?"

Paige had opened her mouth to say something, but Pru cut her off. "Actually, Paige was just telling me that she needed to get some sleep and I agree. We both have a long day ahead of us." Paige, whose mouth was still hanging open, closed it and frowned. She wasn't really tired…and her day wasn't that bad. Sure, she needed to work on her Mermish independent study and she was supposed to meet Hagrid later that afternoon, but it wasn't a horribly busy day. Pru never acted without reason, so Paige just nodded.

"Oh…ok, well you two have a good night then," Shana mumbled. Paige nodded and waited for Pru to get up, but Pru didn't seem to be moving anytime soon. Aware that Shana was watching their silent exchange, Pru raised her eyebrows at Paige and moved her head towards their dorm. Paige huffed, grabbed Pru behind her back and underneath her knees and picked her up.

Paige tried to speak again, but Pru put a finger to her lips. "Wait," she said. Paige complied, walking them to their room. "I know what you're going to say, blah blah Emily blah blah, but I think it'd be best if Shana still thinks we're together."

"Oh please," Paige scoffed, setting Pru down.

"Why is it so hard for you to believe that anyone else might be interested in you?" Pru asked. It was always like that—Pru would watch as another someone turned to mush around Paige, who of course never took notice. Paige tried to answer, but Pru interrupted. "Never mind. Tell Emily if you have to, but Shana really likes you."

"I appreciate what you're doing, Pru," Paige said as they made their way to their separate beds, "but I'll just tell Shana I'm not interested in her. That should be easy enough."

"Before or after our next match?" Pru asked pointedly.

"I'll figure it out," Paige muttered. She couldn't have one of her best players upset with her. After they changed, both girls laid in their beds and turned towards each other. They kept the inside curtain open so they could see each other, but kept the outside curtains closed. When they wanted privacy, one of them would cast the muffliato charm around both of their beds instead of just one. When Paige had told Pru about her and Emily's fight—which meant different sleeping arrangements—Pru sighed dramatically but didn't put up much of a fight. She didn't think it was an outrageous request and she was expecting it for some time.

"Good night, thick head."

"Night, Pru."

* * *

"Hey girlie!" Hanna cried out, grabbing Emily's butt. "Where you off to?"

"Hanna!" Emily shrieked, swatting her friend, "You scared me!" Emily had been sneaking off to find Paige, or at least she thought she was being sneaky. It had been a few weeks since the match and she and Paige had been able to sneak off quite a few times together. Granted, much of what used to be their making out sessions had turned into study sessions, although they had found some interesting ways to keep each other motivated. "Wait, where are you off to?"

Hanna looped an arm through Emily's as the girls walked out to the courtyard. "I was supposed to have a day with Caleb, but they've been practicing like crazy. Getting ready to whip some Ravenclaw butt!" Hanna whooped excitedly. "Which reminds me…who are you going to cheer for?" Hanna demanded suddenly.

"I think I'm going to stick to cheering for both sides, as usual," Emily thought out loud. "Whoever wins this goes on to play Slytherin, right?"

"Ugh, don't remind me. Caleb won't shut up about it! It was bad enough when Spencer couldn't stop talking about Quidditch either." Hanna rolled her eyes. "But speaking of Slytherin, what's going on with Lucas and Pru?"

"Why are you asking me?" Emily wondered.

"Well…don't you hang out with her and Paige? Like in class and stuff?" Hanna asked, as they sat down on one of the benches.

"Kind of. We sit together," Emily admitted, "but that doesn't mean I know anything about that." Truthfully, she and Lucas had already talked about it; their relationship with the two Slytherin girls. She had already suspected that Lucas was starting to crush on Pru and therefore wasn't at all surprised when he finally admitted it to her. She was less sure about what kind of advice to give him, especially when he asked if he should ask Pru out.

"Oh c'mon, Em! You and Lucas are pretty close, we know that," Hanna continued.

"Why do you care so much? You turned him down, remember?" Emily reminded her.

"I know that. I love Lucas, he's a really good friend. I just want to make sure that he's happy," Hanna said.

"Really? Even though Pru's a Slytherin?" Emily asked.

"Well…it's kind of weird, but if Lucas likes her, she can't be all bad," Hanna reasoned. Emily's heart was hammering against her chest as she thought about what Hanna was saying.

"Are you admitting that not all Slytherins are bad?" Emily was pushing it, she knew it, but she needed to know.

"Maybe. I don't know the girl…but I know Lucas," Hanna reasoned. "I wouldn't mind talking with her, or getting to know her for his sake." Emily hugged her friend suddenly, startling Hanna who hugged her back.

"You're kind of awesome, you know that?" Emily said and Hanna chuckled.

"Of course I know that…but where is this coming from?" Hanna asked, still somewhat bewildered.

"Just…no reason."

* * *

"Any other time, Lucas, I'd be good to talk but right now I'm late," Paige said brusquely, as she made her way outside of the castle.

"I know." Lucas was panting lightly, running to catch up with Paige. "Um, I wanted to ask you something about Pru." Paige halted abruptly and Lucas nearly tripped over himself in his attempt to avoid smacking into her.

"What?" Paige asked, looking straight into Lucas's eyes like she already knew about every thought that was running around in his head. Lucas tried his hardest to keep his mind clear (the fact that Pru had already warned him that Paige could read his mind was not helping) and he nervously wiped his forehead. Great, of course he was sweating.

"Uh, well, it's not like, anything important…but uh," Lucas stammered. He couldn't _not_ avoid Paige's stare, even if he wanted to.

"Lucas, please, calm down," Paige commanded, in what she thought was a reassuring voice. Lucas, who still couldn't avoid Paige's gaze, gulped and tried again.

"Ok, um," he checked his watch and Paige narrowed her eyes. When she was looking at Lucas, she could tell he was really thinking about Pru, but it wasn't until Lucas checked his watch that she realized why he was thinking of Pru.

"Lucas, are you stalling me on purpose?" Paige asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"Yes ma'am…I mean, yeah," Lucas answered. "Pru asked me to uh, distract you."

"Why?" Paige demanded. She was supposed to be meeting Emily…_ah_. "Pru is going to try and talk to Emily."

"Yeah, pretty much," Lucas admitted, letting out the breath he didn't know he was holding. "Uh, did you wanna grab some food or something?" Paige sighed.

"Yeah, sure."

* * *

Just across campus, Hanna had left Emily to sit in on the Gryffindor's team practice. Emily hurried over to find Paige, cutting across the spacious front lawn of the campus. As she traced the familiar path to the cove, she heard her name being called from the opposite direction. The voice sounded familiar, so she stopped and considered making her way over. When she heard her name again, she decided to figure out who it was. As soon as she made her way down the footpath, she realized why the voice was so familiar.

It was Pru.

Pru was sitting down on a patch of grass, out of sight from the front of the castle. She was turned towards Emily, waving slightly to catch Emily's attention. Emily acknowledged her with a small wave of her own and walked over. She stood beside Pru for a moment, looking around to see if anyone was out there with them. When she looked down again, Pru was watching her and patting the grass beside her.

"It's comfortable, I promise," Pru said. Looking around again, Emily sat down. Both girls were silent. Emily shifted uncomfortably as Pru picked at the grass around them. "Don't worry, no one's out here. If they are, they're certainly not paying attention to us," Pru reassured her, breaking the silence. Emily wasn't sure if she should laugh or say anything, so she settled for a weak smile but realized that Pru wasn't looking at her.

"I was supposed to be meeting Paige," Emily decided to say instead. Pru nodded.

"Yeah, I know. I got the Badger boy to stall her for a bit so that I could intercept you. You know, Paige has never taken me to that cove of hers? She was under strict orders to not tell anyone where it was and not to take anyone there," Pru informed her.

"I didn't know that," Emily said quietly. Paige had never told her that she wasn't supposed to be there.

"Didn't think you did," Pru shrugged. "I'll never forget how I found out about you and her and that you'd been there with her. We were practicing Legilimency and I happened to grab a memory of hers. She was at her cove and she was the happiest she'd ever been. She never even told me about you, I just managed to stumble upon it myself." Emily didn't say anything. She was never really sure how Paige told Pru; the way they acted, she thought maybe Paige had just went ahead and shared it.

"She never took me there," Emily pointed out. _I followed her_, was what Emily wanted to say, but she kept it to herself.

"I know," Pru said simply. Both girls stayed silent.

"Did you want to talk about something in particular?" Emily asked. It was bugging her, how quiet Pru was being. She actually likened Pru to Hanna, thinking they were similar in attitude and mannerisms. When Hanna was subdued, it meant something was about to go down. Pru was unnervingly still, save for her hands which were still picking at stray blades of grass and Emily couldn't help but think that something big was about to happen.

"Paige likes you a lot and I know that you like her a lot, too," Pru continued. She stopped picking at the grass and looked at Emily. "Don't you think it's about time _your_ friends knew that?" Emily flushed, looking away from Pru who was giving her a look that reminded her of Paige—intense.

"It's…not that simple," Emily stammered out unconvincingly. Pru was still looking at her and Emily avoided looking directly in her eyes. She knew better.

"What's so complicated about it?" Pru asked. "You don't want them to know about Paige? That you've been together for a couple years now? Or are you so afraid of your friends that you're willing to jeopardize your relationship with Paige?"

"How am I jeopardizing our relationship?" Emily demanded.

"Your jealousy, for one," Pru said, causing Emily to bristle.

"You don't even—"

"Yeah, I do." Pru cut her off harshly. "It was fun at first, I will admit. When Paige said you guys were friends, I knew that couldn't be all. So I would do little things to see…and you did not disappoint." Emily's face burned. She always knew that Pru had been doing those things on purpose.

"I knew it! I can't believe you would—"

"I'm not finished," Pru cut her off again, making Emily bite her lip in anger. "Then you two dunder heads started going out and because you refuse to tell your friends, your jealousy became irrational. Paige…Paige is like…she's more than just a friend. You have your little posse, but you're jealous of my relationship with my only best friend?"

"You can take the high ground all you like, but that doesn't make up for the fact that you purposefully tried making me feel jealous!" Emily shouted angrily.

"The feelings were always there, I just helped you realize it," Pru shrugged.

"Then hearing about how you two were sleeping together and that you were going out, when she's my girlfriend," Emily continued, ignoring Pru's comment. "Seeing you two all the time…"

"Oh poor you," Pru drawled sarcastically, "it must be sooo hard, being surrounded by your best friends. If it's not all three of them it's one or two, but you're always with at least one of them. And Lucas," Pru added. "Do you get what I'm trying to say? You are always with your friends, but hate that I'm always with mine?" Emily fumed silently. "What kind of double standard is that?"

"I never asked her to stop hanging around you!" Emily said defensively, "I know you two are close and—"

"Does that bother you, how close we are?" Pru asked. "Physically?"

"I don't sleep with my friends!" Emily shouted.

"You've never had sleepovers with your friends, outside of the school?" Pru retorted.

"Well, yes…" Emily admitted reluctantly. It was true, the girls always were sleeping at each other's houses during the summer. Even Aria and Hanna admitted to bunking together in their dorm.

"So you and your friends are pretty close, yes?" Pru pushed.

"Well…yes…" Emily said again.

"Which brings me to the point of my wanting to talk; why don't they know about you and Paige?" Pru asked. Emily didn't say anything and she was aware that Pru was watching her again. They had their reasons for keeping each other a secret…even Paige was scared to tell Pru at one point. Why was Emily keeping this from her friends? Emily knew that Pru wasn't the problem. Maybe at first, when Emily was unsure of her own feelings for Paige, but now she knew it wasn't Pru.


End file.
